Birds of Prey
by Zero the Leech
Summary: If you think girls aren't tough, then you haven't met these girls. Under the guidance of their friends and mentors, the Birds of Prey take stand untied to take down their enemies and prove themselves ready to enter the world of heroes. But with deadly villains, secretive partnerships, and a plot that will change the world, these girls may find themselves in over their heads.
1. Biography

**Birds of Prey**

**Note**: Since it's been a while since I've actually done anything, I feel that the best way to get back into the game is a full refresh course, essentially starting everything back at the beginning and see if I am capable of gathering new readers. To any old readers, I am grateful for you coming back. Now that I do have a chance to reset everything, I can make some changes that I wouldn't have been able to before.

And to those who are worried about the other deleted stories, relax. I have all the stories safely downloaded on my flashdrive and am still offering to give away Naruto and Dissidia to anyone who is interested along with a list of plot lines.

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**World**: This story takes place in world I call Earth-52. It's a mash between multiple universes from DC, Marvel, and other various universes that I feel like putting in, so there is no set history. The only thing that is established is that the Justice League was formed from the original seven heroes following the invasion of Starro.

**Justice League Beyond**: Founded by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and the Flash following the invasion of Starro. The Justice League was a successful organization that expanded to registering many heroes until the League was disbanded after the Apokolipian Invasion and the subsequent death of the Martian Manhunter at the hands of Darkseid.

Thirty years later, Queen Bee and her HIVE drones invaded Earth and were defeated by the new Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Aquagirl. Six of the members worked to reestablish the Justice League, but Batman refused to join them until two years later. The Justice League has been publicly active for five years and has expanded to eighteen members.

**Founders**: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquagirl, Martian Manhunter

**Members**: Artemis, Spider-Girl, Micron, Warhawk, Spoiler, Doctor Fate (Khalid Ben-Hassin), Wolverine, Static, Avatar, Raven, Iron Man (Tony Stark Jr.)

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**New Avengers: **The original Avengers consisted of Iron Man (Tony Stark Sr.), Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Ant-Man, and Wasp after having joined together to defeat their arch-enemy, Loki. They came into existence several years after the original Justice League had dissolved and worked for close to two decades ridding the world of evil. But after an unknown incident between the founding members, an argument broke out and Iron Man offically disbanded the team forever. Four years later, the Justice League Beyond was created.

In the third year as a team, The JLB was ambushed by Kang the Conqueror, who used his futuristic technology to defeat the Justice League Beyond one-by-one. In a last ditch effort, Batman activated a security protocol to gather the seven greatest heroes on the planet to form the New Avengers: American Dream, Iron Man (Tony Stark Jr.), Spider-Girl, Ant-Man( Scott Lang), Stature, Skarr, and Tarene. After defeating Kang and saving the JLB, they were brought into service under Nick Fury's command until Spider-Girl left the team, questioning the team's real priorities.

**Founders: **American Dream, Iron Man (Left Team), Skarr, Ant-Man, Stature, Tarene, Spider-Girl (Left Team)

**Members: **Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Quake, Darkdevil, Nova, Black Window (Monica Chang), Hulkling, Wiccan, Speed, Vision

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**Titans: **As one of the last members of the original Teen Titans, Cyborg took notice that the next generation of heroes was getting younger and many of them didn't have the proper mentors to teach them how to use their abilities. Victor wished to establish the Titans once more and tried to call in his old friends, Nightwing and Raven. But since Raven had already joined the Justice League Beyond, she refused the offer, and Dick also refused on the grounds that he did not wish to make the same mistake he made when they accepted Starfire into the group.

Despite not having the support he needed, Cyborg went ahead with his Titan Project and invited the first three teenage heroes he knew: Superboy (Chris Kent), Flash (Danica Williams), and Aqualad (Jackson Hyde). One their first day as a team, they were dragged into a fight for their lives by the deranged psychopath calling himself Harvest, who set up an elaborate maze of traps to test their abilities. They all managed to survive the experience, but these kids still had a lot to learn before they were ready for the big challenges. The Titans have since established their base and have accepted other teenage superheroes under Cyborg's careful leadership.

**Founders: **Cyborg, Aqualad, Flash, Superboy

**Members: **Bunker, Skitter, Solstice, Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

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**Important Backgrounds:**

**Superman**: Conner Kent was created as a genetic replication of Superman by Lex Luthor, but turned against his creator to serve for justice. When the sun was transformed into a toxic hazard by Superman's enemy, Solaris, the Man of Steel sacrificed himself to restore the sun to its original shape, leaving Conner to carry the mantle. Since Conner was still getting a grasp on his Kryptonian heritage, it took several decades until he finally emerged as the new Superman and waged constant battle against his arch-enemy, Alexander Luthor, son of Lex Luthor and twin brother of Lena Luthor

During his extensive years of training, Conner understood that his Kryptonian physiology slowed down his aging rate, but being a genetic clone of the original has retarded his growth rate to an extent equal to Wolverine. Superman has two sidekicks: Ariella Kent (Supergirl), a 7 year-old girl that claims to be the daughter of Superman from an alternate dimension. And Christopher Kent (Nightwing), teenage grandson of the original Superman and the nephew of Conner. Though they are both equally powerful (Ariella is considered the strongest of them), Conner doesn't believe they are ready for the Justice League due to their lack of self-control and experience.

Superman once shared an intimate relationship with Wonder Woman, only to break up when Cassandra felt that Conner was too willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. He has now entered a relationship with, to everyone's shock, Lena Luthor, daughter of Lex Luthor. Though she genuinely wishes to prove that she is a good person, her fused genetics with Brainac often hinders her goals.

**Batman**: Batman's history is relatively close to the original. Bruce Wayne retired from crime fighting after unintentionally killing his arch-enemy, the Joker, leaving Gotham in the hands of Nightwing and Red Robin. Terry McGinnis accidentally stumbled into the Bat Cave after a visit to Bruce Wayne's mansion and later returns for the original Batsuit after his father was murdered by the Jokerz. After much investigation, Terry confronted Derek Powers, who would one day become his arch-enemy, Blight. After determining that Terry was a worthy successor of the Batman mantle, Bruce publicly announced the creation of "Batman Inc.", which would provide funding to many superheroes including Batman, Spoiler, Artemis, and the Justice League Beyond.

Though he is the least experienced member of the JLB founders, Terry is widely considered the most powerful. Being personally trained by Bruce Wayne, Azrael, Lady Shiva, and Nightwing, Terry is proficient in many fields to take down enemies. Terry's first partner was Stephanie Brown (Spoiler), daughter of a third-rate villain Clue Master. They worked together for two years until Spoiler took a solo career in Bludhaven under Batman's recommendation and eventually became a full-time member of the Justice League Beyond. His current partner is Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), daughter of Lady Shiva. Because of her inability to read, write, or speak proper sentences, it has become harder for Cassandra to adapt to the world around her. With Cassandra's future in mind, Bruce Wayne officially adopted Cassandra as his legal daughter and devoted much of his time teaching Cassandra the basic of normal culture.

As the Batman, it is natural that Terry has developed many relationships with multiple women in the superhero community including Aquagirl, Batgirl, and Artemis. He is currently engaged with Spider-Girl, AKA May Parker.

**Wonder Woman**: Before his defeat at the hands of the original Wonder Woman, Ares vowed to send a champion that would destroy Themyscira. In response to this threat, Zeus, King of the Gods, sought out a woman of noble heart that would mother the champion of the gods. He came across a kind-hearted archeologist named Helena Sandsmark and blessed her with a child that was gifted with the powers of the Greek Gods. This child would eventually become known as Cassandra. Though her mother was generous in nature, Cassandra was, in her words, "a spoiled brat", often taking advantage of her looks and mother's wealth. But during a cruise in the Atlantic, Cassandra and the ship were attack by a warrior named Genocide, who claimed to be the champion of Ares.

After Genocide sank the ship, Cassandra floated aimlessly on a piece of debris until she miraculously drifted on to the shores of Themyscira. It was there she met Queen Diana, the previous Wonder Woman, and learned the true nature of her birth. After coming to terms with her fate and meeting the father she never knew, Cassandra trained for months with the Amazons, learning how to a mighty warrior in preparations for facing Genocide. It was during her fight with her arch-enemy that Cassandra learned she had inherited her father's lightning powers. With the threat of Genocide still present, Cassandra has drastically changed her ways and fights against the forces of evil as the new Wonder Woman.

Cassandra has formed many bonds after changing her snobbish ways; particularly a friendly rivalry with Artemis of Bana-Mighdall. She also once shared an intimate romance with Superman, but broke up after realizing that he is too willing to sacrifice herself and her heart wouldn't accept that.

**Flash**: Bart Allen, grandson of the second Flash, worked under the name of Impulse as the sidekick of Wally West, the third Flash. But after a conflict with Inertia, Wally was gravely injured in battle, forcing Bart to temporarily take up the mantle of the Flash. After witnessing Bart's heroism against Inertia, Wally felt that it was time to step down and allow Bart to take up the position he was born to inherit. Now fully christened as the new Flash, Bart uses his superhuman speed to take down evil and have a little fun along the way.

Though he was a sidekick himself for a time, it is now Bart's turn to mentor the next generation. A couple years following Bart's ascension to the Flash, Wally West's wife, Linda Parks, gave birth to twin children: Iris and Jai West – both are named after important members of the Flash family. But unlike the rest of her family, Iris proved to be more in tuned with the Speed Force that it drastically accelerated her age. Within a week, Iris had already exhausted her entire lifespan. In order to counteract the effects, Bart used his own connection to the Speed Force to siphon of Iris's energy to revert her back to a child. Bart has now taken Iris under his wing as the new Impulse.

Bart also shares the title of the Flash with Titan's member Danica Williams, who is revealed to be the great-granddaughter of Jay Garrick, the original Flash. Bart has offered many times to mentor Danica in the ways of the Speed Force, but is often refused, claiming that she wishes to learn things on her own rather than become another "Flash Kid". Bart and Danica have worked together many times, proving that they have both earned the name of the Flash.

**Green Lantern**: Once Nekron had been defeated in the Blackest Night, Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Sinestro, Hal Jordon, Saint Walker, Indigo-1, and Carol Farris united their separate Corps to form the White Lantern Corps and became the New Guardians of the Universe. With their newly established Corps, the New Guardians commissioned seven lanterns in each Space Sector – one for each of the colors. With Nekron free to revive the dead for his Black Lantern Corps, the White Lantern Corp have expanded their numbers dramatically to counteract their numbers. One such lantern was the Green Lantern of Sector 2814: Kyle Rayner.

Kyle Rayner is one of the more recent Green Lanterns personally selected by Kai-Ro, the previous Green Lantern of Sector 2814. Kyle has proven to be a more interesting Lantern as he was favorable to all 7 colors of the Emotional Spectrum, but he selected the Green Lantern Ring as his weapon of choice. Kyle is a favorable opponent against the Black Lantern Corps as his light is strong enough to banish the souls of the dead with enough concentration. Though there are some Lanterns immune to his light such as his arch-enemy, Black Hand.

Recently, a blind girl from Earth named Jade Yifei has recently been inducted as a Green Lantern and assigned as a trainee learning under Kyle Rayner. But instead of taking the Green Lantern name, she has elected to call herself the Jade Lantern because "there is too much Green". Though they are teacher and student, Kyle and Jade are pushing the borders of a romantic relationship.

**Aquagirl**: Marina and her twin sister, Hila, were the daughters of Aquaman and princesses of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis. But unlike her studious and disciplined sister, Marina was reckless and always chasing after adventure. For that reason, she had very little friends outside her caretaker, Kaldur'ahm, and a pet tiger-shark she named Razor. But one day, Atlantis was invaded by a man calling himself Stingray and the king of Atlantis was assassinated in the midst of the chaos. After finding evidence that Aquaman was murdered by an Atlantian weapon, Marina was quickly accused and banished from Atlantis, despite her sister's protest.

It would be some time before Marina would come to realize that it was her sister, who had working in the shadows under the name Siren, who orchestrated the invasion and killed their father in cold blood. Hila had always known that their father had favored Marina despite being the prodigal child and planned to take the throne by force if necessary. In a final battle for the throne, Aquagirl and Siren battled at an active undersea volcano until Marina dealt the final blow that sent her sister falling into the chasm. Though all evidence shows that Hila is dead, Mareena knows that her sister is alive and is waiting for the perfect time to strike. With her name cleared, Marina returned to Atlantis and was coroneted as the Queen of Atlantis.

Marina's time on the surface world has allowed her to redevelop its bonds with Atlantis following Hila's short reign. Though she is obligated to serve her people, Marina tends to pass the responsibility off to her caretaker and join the fight with the Justice League Beyond. Marina has shown romantic interest in Batman, but has come to accept that he loves Spider-Girl. In more recent developments, Marina has been hinted to show interest in JLB member Warhawk.

**Martian Manhunter**: After J'onn J'onnz was killed by Darkseid, M'gann M'orzz blamed the Justice League for saving her mentor and left Earth to return to her empty home world of Mars. On the silent red planet, M'gann shed her false appearance as a Green Martian and accepted her White Martian heritage, no longer caring what people thought. After spending many decades alone on Mars, M'gann began to grow more cold and isolated from society, eventually become more serious in nature. But when Queen Bee's forces passed by her atmosphere on the way to Earth, M'gann contemplated returning to the blue planet to warn them of their impending danger. Ultimately, she chose to stay out of it – Earth wasn't her home anymore.

However, she was no longer given the option of remaining neutral as one of Queen Bee's slaves found and captured M'gann, viewing her as a threat. She was taken to Earth as a captive until she was released by her former friend, Superman. Though she initially elected to stay out of the battle, she was eventually persuaded by the original Batman to take up the fight. She now resides in the Justice League's Watchtower as her new home and watches over all planetary threats. Though she fights for the forces of good, she does not attempt to hide her isolation from humanity, often finding herself wondering why she chooses to protect such fragile and contradictory creatures.

**Artemis**: The granddaughter of Dick Grayson and Artemis Crock, Serah Grayson has inherited much from her grandmother including her looks and love of archery. Serah used to live in Gotham city with her little brother, Thomas Grayson (who would later become her arch-enemy, Red X), until her parents finally divorced. While Serah moved with her mother to Star City, Thomas stayed with their father in Gotham. It was during the move that Serah accidentally stumbled across her grandmother's old costume and her mother explained her heritage as the granddaughter of two of Gotham's greatest heroes. While Serah originally intended to sell the costume for a lot of money, she ended up wearing the old suit after mother's office was attacked by a rogue archer named Merlyn. By some miracle, Serah managed to defeat Merlyn, which caught the attention of her legal great-grandfather, Bruce Wayne, and publicly provided funding to Serah through Batman Inc.

After busting an underground child prostitution ring, a girl named Mia Dearden followed Artemis home and discovered her true identity as Serah Grayson. Mia threatened to expose Serah's true identity unless she personally trained her to fight. But when Serah refused, Mia left and ended up being captured by one of Artemis's enemies. Serah eventually rescued Mia, who was grateful and promised never to reveal her identity. The next day, Mia Dearden was officially adopted into the Grayson Family and became Artemis's new sidekick: Speedy.

Artemis's personality allows her to get along well with most of the superhero community and even developed a competitive rivalry with Batman. She has also had many romantic exploits involving Batman and the Flash.

**Spider-Girl**: Around the time May Parker was born, her father – Spider-Man – had lost his leg against the Green Goblin and was forced to retire from a life as a superhero. Since then, Peter and Mary-Jane had hoped to keep their daughter away from the life as a superhero. Their hopes were in vain as May had developed spider powers on her fifteenth birthday, forcing her parents to reveal the truth about her father being Spider-Man. Though they protested against May taking up the webs, she went against her parent's wishes and designed her own costume, taking up the name Spider-Girl after her father.

Though May doesn't have skills as developed as her father, she has proven her worth as a web-slinger and eventually earned her parent's faith. Along the way, she has developed many partnerships with superheroes such as American Dream, Dark Devil, and Batman. She is widely remembered as one of the founding members of the New Avengers before she was expelled from the team by the other members for allowing a pair of supervillains to walk free. She was rejected by most of the superhero community since then until Batman and Artemis appeared, giving her the opportunity to join Justice League Beyond.

Spider-Girl does have a sidekick of her own, but it was kind of forced upon her. Felicity Hardy, daughter of the Black Cat, used her knowledge to deduce Spider-Girl's identity and crafted a costume inspired by the Scarlet Spider, eventually taking the mantle for herself. Though Felicity has no powers, Spider-Girl has provided her with web-slinging cartridges and trained her in acrobatics. While May does think that Felicity is a capable hero, she does not believe she is up to JLB standards just yet.

**Wolverine**: James Howlett, currently named Logan, is a mutant from the 1880's whose accelerated healing factor has allowed him to retard his aging factor to a crawl. Having fought in three wars during his lifetime, Logan was the ideal test subject for Weapon X, which fused his bone structure with adamantium – a process Logan was only able to survive through his healing ability. But because of the process, Logan's memories were distorted to the point where he could no longer remember his own name.

Over the years, Logan has remained at Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngster, training generations of X-Men in honing their own mutant abilities and hopefully allowing them to successfully integrate into society. With the appearance of the Justice League Beyond, mutants have become more widely accepted into modern society. When Aquagirl and Spider-Girl arrived at the school offering Wolverine a position in the JLB, Wolverine turned them down multiple times. But after Xavier's school was attacked by some remaining radicals, Wolverine came to realize that the world might not be fully prepared for the mutant society and joined the Justice League Beyond in hopes of bettering relationships between people and mutants.

During his lifetime, Wolverine came to have one son named Daken, but the child has unfortunately inherited his temper in addition to his powers, making it difficult for him to connect with the other heroes. Unbeknownst to him, Weapon X had secretly been working to recreate the process that made Wolverine who he is and even started working on a new project called X-23.

**Avatar**: Korra was born with the spirit of the Avatar, which allowed her to bend her will against the four elements: earth, fire, air, and water. Though she was gifted with the ultimate power in the world, the stress and responsibility of being the planet's only protector often overwhelmed her. Long ago, when a terrorist organization known as the Equalists planned to bury Republic City in a man-made earthquake, Korra sacrificed herself by force activating the Avatar State and transforming her body into crystal underground, providing support to the city to keep it from collapsing. The Equalists were eventually defeated and the Avatar spirit was never seen again.

It is revealed that Korra was alive in the crystal and were awakened by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. 1200 years later in San Francisco. Though Nick Fury intended to weaponize Korra's powers, the teenage girl proved to be too much of a wild card and ended up exposing herself to the public. With the news of a new hero in San Francisco, Nick Fury had no choice but to publicly deputize Korra as official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she constantly fights against various villains as long as she remains within the legal limits. Her most powerful adversary is Amon, who is revealed to have been the first to discover the chemical that would one day be called Lazarus, and the Equalists in their pursuit to eliminate Metahumans. But while the world knows her as the Avatar, she has taken up the name Korra Wavecrest, modern teenager, as her secret identity. It was some time that Korra was invited by Green Lantern to be the last member of the Justice League Beyond.

Korra has developed many relationships in S.H.I.E.L.D. including Maria Hill, who she looks to as a big sister, and a new agent she had been assigned to train named Rose Wilson. Korra eventually reveals her identity to her best friend and classmate, Angelina Majors, who provides computer support under the alias Achieve – the name Oracle was taken by Delia Dennis in Gotham. Since arriving in San Francisco, Korra has entered many relationships with both men and women, most notable being Red X and Julia Powers. She did eventually marry her lover, Scandal Savage, until they were divorced several months later due to unknown circumstances.

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**Birds of Prey:** Inspired by the original all-female superhero team created by the first Batgirl, the sidekicks of the Justice League Beyond work together as a separate division to their mentors, taking missions that specialize in observation, covert, and sometimes reinforcement. Unlike their predecessors of Young Justice, this group does not mind being referred to as sidekicks; even accepting is as a compliment because of their respect for their mentors. After much debate, it was decided that Batgirl would become their leader because of her years of experience and her natural ability to leader with little effort.

Members: Batgirl, Impulse, Speedy, Talon, Jade, Ravager


	2. Initiation

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

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**Chapter One: Initiation**

**_Neo Gotham City – December 31, 12:00 EDT_**

New Year's Eve in one of America's biggest – and in the opinion of many, the most crime infested – city in the country was both an occasion of great celebration and fear. Neo Gotham was well on its way to being prepared for the greatest party in history, until next year, that is. They had everything from the bright lights and street wide festivals to the traditional countdown ball that would welcome the New Year. Spider-Girl still argued that New York threw better parties. But every year around this time, some psychotic supervillain would make a New Year Revolution to break their old record for the most kills in a single night, meaning more security need to included annually. And, unfortunately, this year was no exception.

Neo Gotham's Financial District was the center of commerce in the city and Wayne-Powers Enterprises was Neo Gotham's largest business franchise. It seemed like another semi-normal afternoon, ignoring the regular street thugs hanging around the corner, when the glass doors of the corporate building were inexplicably shattered in a blaze of emerald fire. There was instantaneous panic as everyone either ducked for cover or high-tailed it out of the building; some even jumped out of the bathroom windows.

Emerging from the sifting smoke, charred rubble, and menacing-green flames was a man whose skin glowed a neon shade of green and was completely transparent, displaying his mutilated skeleton. His attire consisted of a black and copper hazmat suit with a glass dome over his head, leaving only his emerald flaming hands exposed. **(Derek Powers – Blight)**

Everyone recognized Blight – arch-enemy of Gotham's greatest hero and a living nuclear reactor. Some of the smart ones had already turned and ran legs at the first glimpse of the glowing skeleton. But some workers were too terrified to move, one of which included the new intern working at the front desk. Blight stepped up to the whimpering woman, looking ghoulishly smug as he leaned over the desk – his hands hissed against the wooden surface

"Excuse me, miss," said Blight politely, his voice a rackle. "I have an appointment with Mr. Wayne that is long overdue." The woman continued to wimper and fell out of her seat when Blight leaned closer. "I don't believe you heard me. I want Bruce Wayne NOW!"

"You want Wayne, make an appointment, Powers."

The nuclear skeleton turned on his heels, just barely catching a glimpse of the red and black bat-shaped boomerang before it scratched his protective dome. The batarang hadn't caused any damage to Blight other than scratching the glass, but the sudden assault caught Powers by surprise and knocked him backward over the desk; the intern quickly fled, screaming at the top of her lungs. Blight glowered dangerously as he pulled up himself up, using the desk for support; the wood charred at his touch.

Unsurprisingly, the man he despised more than Wayne was standing at the shattered entrance with his arms crossed and that same irritating grin on his cowl. His suit completely black with the exception of the scarlet-red bat insignia on his chest, the visible fins on his wrists, the pointed ears on his cowl, and the silver belt strapped around his waist. **(Terrance McGinnis – Batman)**

"You really don't know when to pack it, do ya, Powers," said Batman smirked confidently. "I mean, sure it took you over forty years to buy out Wayne Enterprises and end up losing it a year later in front of a global audience. But seriously, turning into a walking nuclear bomb isn't going to get you anything."

"Oh, I'll get my company back, don't you worry about that," said Blight, forming a ball of nuclear energy in his right hand. "First I'm gonna take care of you, and then I'm going to take care of Wayne. I'll kill two birds with one stone, Batman."

But before Blight had the chance to lob the energy bomb, he was thrown forward by a large weight dropping on his back. Powers smacked head-first into the desk, slightly cracking his protective dome, and the weight was lifted off his shoulders followed by the distinctive sound of flapping cloth. Blight lifted himself quick enough to see the Batman's annoying partner expertly flip through the air and land gracefully at her mentor's side. And the worst of it is, it wasn't that Spoiler brat anymore.

Batman's newest sidekick appeared to be closer to his age based side-by-side comparison. Her costume closely resembled the Dark Knight's costume including the full-black body, the finned wrists, and the pointy-eared cowl. The only distinctions shared between them was the yellow-rimmed bat insignia on her chest, the darkened eyes, the addition of a cape, and the symbolic stitches around the mouth of her mask. **(Cassandra Cain-Wayne – Batgirl)**

"Oh…and Batgirl," said Blight. "Typical. Always sending the girl scouts to do your dirty work, Batman."

"Whatever…you are planning…is ogre, Blight," said Batgirl slowly.

"Over," Batman corrected. Batgirl flinched at her mistake. "Whatever he is planning is over, Batgirl."

"Uh…right," said Batgirl.

"Oh, this is rich!" said Blight, laughing loudly. Batgirl groaned embarrassingly. "I heard rumors that your new sidekick was a little slow, but I didn't think she was mentally retarded! You really know how to pick 'em, Bats!"

Batgirl narrowed her darkened eyes and stepped forward to thrash him, but was quickly pulled back when her mentor tugged at her cape. The move was just in time as Blight tossed the nuclear sphere at the area where she was previously standing. His first attempt failed, Blight filled his hands with over a dozen energy bombs and lobbed them at the Dynamic Duo. The Dark Knights quickly punched their fists to the high ceiling, releasing hidden the grappling mechanisms in their suits. Once the claws latched on the ceiling, Batman and Batgirl quickly tugged back and were propelled upwards, barely dodging the emerald grenades at the last second

With a grunt of annoyance, Blight opened his fists, created more energy orbs, and started hurling them in the general area of the Dynamic Duo. The Bats were fortunate to dodge the blasts in midair before releasing the grappling lines, dropping down behind the low wall on the second floor while Blight continued to vault them with energy bombs. The stone wall was already cracking under the pressure of Blight's attack, but despite that, Batman didn't appear the slightest bit worried as he started digging through his utility belt.

"Sorry we had to put the trip on hold, Cass," Batman apologized, shrugging in his partner's direction. "I know how important today is for you. Spoiler's been waiting for this for a while now."

"It is…all right," Batgirl said slowly, flinching when another bomb exploded over their heads. "But…I would like…to harry this…up."

"Hurry, Cass," Batman corrected. "The word you're looking for is hurry."

"That, too," said Batgirl

Snickering under his breath, Batman finally found what he was looking for and pulled out a handful of silver-plated pellets. He waited for a moment when Blight appeared to be slowing down, holding his breath until the explosions finally stopped. He peeked over the wall, spotting Blight, who was looking around. He seemed to think that Batman and Batgirl had taken shelter somewhere else. Perfect.

"Hey, Glowface, think fast!" Batman shouted, tossing the capsules.

Blight turned and stared at the small pellets, raising his hand to burn them, but was too late. The capsules snapped against his hands and, in the blink of an eyes, had flash frozen his hands. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a problem; he could just increase his body temperature and melt the ice off. But he never had the chance to before Batgirl glided down from the second floor, smashing his helmet under her foot.

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**_Star City –December 31, 9:01 PDT_**

Star City wasn't as bad as Gotham or Bludhaven, but it was a place where villains would go when they wanted to get away from Batman or Spoiler. And even though they no longer had to fear the wrath of the Bat Family, they had a new adversary to deal with. One who was learning from example had tried to make a flashy entrance in Star City's Tinder-Smith Garden Arena, home of the Star City Mercenaries. It had only been moments earlier when the stadium was crowded by rambunctious hockey fans looked to see some senseless violence until the match was interrupted by an explosion of purple.

Most of the crowd that had run away followed the trail up to the rafters, where they could only see a flicker of purple flames illuminated in the shadows. The attacker jumped down and stomped into the center of the hockey rink, cracking the ice and throwing some of the players off their feet. He was a hulking man in what appeared to be a black and white containment suit where the only thing visible was his deteriorated skull, which was coated in purple-colored flames. **(Joseph Martin – Atomic Skull)**

The Atomic Skull reached out to one of the hockey players that had been petrified by his entrance and wrapped his hand around the man's face. It only took a matter of seconds before the player was reduced to a pile of ash. At that point, anyone who had stuck around had certainly made a dash for the exit now. The Atomic Skull leered at the fading crowd and raised his hand, ready to wipe them out in a single sweep, when two arrows stabbed the front of his containment suit. He looked down and staggered back when the arrows suddenly exploded in his face.

"I'm not really a hockey fan myself, but aren't you going a little overboard?"

The Atomic Skull growled, turning his empty eye sockets to the top of the stands. A woman with golden-blond hair tied into a low ponytail grinned at the supervillain like he was some mildly entertaining program. Her costume consisted of a moss-green V-line mask, a moss-green midriff shirt with a lime-green arrow on the front, elbow-length fingerless gloves, a band on her right arms, and moss-green pants with lime-green lining. She also had black pads on her knees, black combats boots, and a pouch strapped to her left thigh. As an archer, she naturally carried a green compact bow with a quiver of arrows stocked. **(Serah Grayson – Artemis)**

Standing next to her was the archer's young protégée. Her costume was roughly much simpler than her mentor's: a scarlet-red body suit with golden bands on her forearms and knees, the traditional golden arrow insignia on her chest, and a golden cape with a hood thrown over her head. She wore a black domino mask over her eyes and a small strand of golden hair poked out. Like her teacher, she carried a red compact bow and a quiver of arrow beneath her cape. **(Mia Dearden-Grayson – Speedy)**

"Finally," said Atomic Skull thankfully, igniting his hands. "I was wondering what a guy had to do to get a little attention around here."

"If you wanted our attention, maybe you should invest on our own Arrow Signal." Speedy suggested, jumping to side as the Atomic Skull threw a blast of energy. "That would be so cool. We could be like Batman."

"If Batman has one, there is no way in hell we're getting a signal." Artemis said finally, earning a depressive moan from her protégée. The green archer quickly equipped her bow with two arrows, firing them at the flame-headed villain. "Besides, a search light in the sky isn't exactly the most discreet way to catch villains."

"But it's still cool." Speedy argued, firing an arrow from behind the seats.

The green archer rolled her eyes as she ducked a violet fireball – sometimes there was just no arguing with the logic on a hero-worshipping eleven year old girl. Pulling another trick arrow from her quiver, Artemis rolled into view, releasing the drawstring when she thought the Atomic Skull wasn't looking. But the Atomic Skull quickly caught sight of her out of the corner of his nonexistent eyes and turned to incinerate the arrow with a blast of energy. The Atomic Skull formed handful of purple orbs in his hands and threw them to the air, letting them fall at random. Artemis and Speedy scrambled for safety as the nuclear blasts exploded around them.

A moment of silence passed. Clouds of purple smoke polluted the air. The Atomic Skull looked around for a moment, considering the possibility that he might had succeeded in killing the Emerald Archer and her protégée. His skull twisted into a menacing grin. His smirk was quickly wiped away at the sound of a drawstring puncturing the silence.

He turned and spotted the twin archers standing at the bottom of the stands, their arrows drawn and set. The Atomic Skull raised his hands and called more energy into his palms, but Artemis and Speedy had already released their hands and watched their arrows fly true. The Atomic Skull was promptly knocked unconscious by the two metal studded arrows hitting his forehead, sliding across the ice and throwing him into the goal post – the buzzer blared.

"I always thought he was a bit soft in the head," Artemis joked, closing her bow and stuffing it in her quiver.

"Ok, we beat the bad guy," said Speedy excitedly, clasping her hands and turning to her mentor pleadingly. "Can we go now, please?"

"What's the hurry, Speedy?" Artemis laughed.

"You know why," said Speedy, practically bouncing on her feet. "I've been waiting for this moment since I first became a superhero. It's finally my time to shine."

* * *

**_Los Angeles – December 31, 9:02 PDT_**

Los Angeles, home of swimming pools, movies stars, fame, fortune, and the occasional mutant vs. mutant fighting. While everyone in town went about making moves and dancing on sidewalks, they remained ignorant to what was happening up at the famous Hollywood sign. There was a brief flash of light before someone was shot through "O" and plowed a ten foot trail in the dirt.

When the dust had cleared away, the person was actually revealed to be a teenage girl with short dark-hair, steadily picking herself up with a soft groan. It was almost difficult to tell who she was due to was due to her costume: a yellow hazmat suit with black outlines forming a radioactive symbol on her chest and yellow helmet with a glass visor. **(Jennifer Takeda – Hazmat)**

Hazmat shook her head clear of any dizziness, quickly turning her attention to the two heroes standing at the top of the "W" with her eyes narrowed. The first of them was a grizzly-looking man with unnaturally pointed teeth and very hairy arms. His costume was all bright-yellow with blue stripes on his shoulders and side, and a red "X" on the left side of his chest. He also wore navy-blue boots and gloves, a golden-yellow belt, and a bright-yellow mask with navy-blue devil curls over the eyes. **(James Howlett/Logan – Wolverine)**

But while the yellow wild man shared a look of concern for the radioactive girl, his partner didn't share the sentiment. His costume was roughly close to that of Wolverine; only the color scheme was revered for a dirt-brown and copper tone. Another difference between them was that Wolverine had three metal claws ripping from his knuckles and he only had two bone claws coming out from his knuckles and one from his wrist **(Akihiro – Daken)**

"Hey, go easy on her," said Wolverine, waving his claws to his partner. "She's just a kid."

"She's in the way!" Daken growled. "If we didn't have a little side trip for this stupid brat, we would already be there!"

"Ya need to control that temper of yours, bub," said Wolverine, looking very surprised at himself. "Wow, did I just say that?"

"Look out!"

Daken ducked away in time, but Wolverine was blasted off the sign by a green beam of radioactive energy to the chest. With the big man temporarily disabled, Hazmat turned her sights on Daken and threw out her hands, shooting radioactive beams from her palms. Daken dodged to the right to avoid the first shot, flipped backwards to avoid the second, and simply ducked down from the third aimed for his head. This kid didn't even know how to use her powers properly. That just ticked him off. After avoiding a fourth blast aimed for his feet, Daken made a dash for the teenage mutant, his claws digging into the dig along the way.

Hazmat seemed to panic and flailed her hands randomly, hoping to get a lucky shot. But Daken was able to effortlessly dive between two radioactive rays and find a clear path to the young mutant. Daken slahed upwards when she was within his range of attack and ripped a large hole in her suit and helmet. Hazmat fell backward, slamming her head into a large rock that knocked her unconscious.

Even with his prey defeated and unconscious, Daken wasn't nearly satisfied with how the fight had ended. This bitch had interrupted a very important day and she was going to pay for it dearly. Daken growled softly and stabbed his bone claws toward for Hazmat's jugular vein, only just barely intercepted by Wolverine's metallic ones.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, bub?" Wolverine leered, pushing his partner way. "That's not the way the JLB handles their problems. We don't kill unless we have no other choice. She's not evil, just a little misguided little girl."

"Whatever," said Daken, retracting his claws. "You've gotten soft in your old age."

"Maybe I have," said Wolverine as he gently lifted Hazmat into his arms. "But that's the difference between me and the monsters I fight."

"Whatever, let's just go." Daken scowled. "We've got something more important to deal with."

* * *

**_Central City – December 31, 11:03 CDT_**

Like the hero of the town, there was always something exciting happen in Central City. This time the site of interest was the famous Central City Flash Museum, an lond standing shrine to the legacy of the Flash that dated back to the time of Jay Garrick to the current exploits of the two Flashes. It was an average visit to the Flash Museum until the monument honoring the original Impulse was blasted through the roof and smashed into the street, causing many cars to swerve off course.

The throngs of people were seen fleeing the building as quickly as they could, some making a break for it through the hole in the wall. And the man responsible for ruining this monument to the city's greatest heroes continued his marched through her the Rogue's Gallery, disintegrating the costumes of the original rogues. He wore starry suit with golden lining on his sides, around his face, and wore matching golden boots. **(Benjamin Krullen – Reactron)**

Reactron pressed his hands against the gilded statue of Jay Garrick, watching with glee as the monument literallaly slipped through his fingers. Reactron moved on to the next statue, a statue of Barry Allan, when he was suddenly knocking off his feet by two blurs, one red and yellow, and the other red and white. As Reactron shuffled to his feet, the twin blurs were already circling around him in typical whirlwind fashion.

Reactron scowled underneath his mask. He didn't need to see them to know who was ruing his fun day at the museum. The first was a young man where a full-body red suit with yellow lightning bolts on his wrists and waist, the bright-yellow knee-length boots, and the white marker on his chest with the symbolic lightning bolt. **(Bartholomew Allan II – Flash)**

His young partner in crime-fighting was a little girl with vibrant-red hair tied into two long pigtails by lightning bolt hairclips. Her costume was a lot more complicated than her mentors: a red strip running down the center and the inside of her legs, white segments covering her sides, arms, and the outside of the legs, and a lightning bolt pattern separating the two colors. She also wore scarlet-red boots, matching fingerless gloves with straps, and a scarlet-red mask with yellow lenses built-in over her eyes **(Iris West II – Impulse)**

As the speeding partners circled endlessly around their nemesis, Reactron attempted to blast them with the radioactive beam emitting from his hands, but they were moving too fast for him to land a proper hit.

"I don't get this guy's problem is," said Flash, ducking another radioactive blast. "He's not even one of our villains. Come to think of it, shouldn't he be getting his butt kicked by Superman or Superwoman right about now?"

"Who cares?" Impulse shouted, jumping a blast aimed for her feet. "Let's get this over with quick before we're late!"

"If you feel that strongly, go for it, kid," said Flash gentlemanly.

With a gleeful smile on her face, Impulse circled around Reactron until she was directly behind him and curved around. Reactron was too focused on the scarlet speedster whizzing around him that he failed to notice Impusle sliding across the polished floor until she crashed into the back of his legs. Reactron fell on his back from Impulse's kindergarten tactics as the she kick-flipped back to her feet. Reactron started to push himself back up by his elbows, but was quickly knocked out by a shiny yellow boot to the face.

"Nice work, kid," said Flash complimented

"Can we go now? Can we go now?" said Impulse hyperactively. She was practically bouncing in her mentor's chest. "Please? Please? Please? Can we go now? Please? Can we? Can we? Can we? Please?"

"Whoa, whoa, settle down there, squirt," said Flash, chuckling as he pried her off. "We have plenty of time to get there after we drop the walking nightlight off at the police station."

"But I wanna go there now!" Impulse whined childishly. "I've been waiting for this moment my whole life!"

"You only just heard about it last week," said Flash.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a whole week!" said Impulse quickly. "It's finally here! Today's the day!"

* * *

**_Metropolis – December 31, 14:00 EDT_**

Metropolis, a famous city for many things including the home of the world famous Superman and his arch-enemy, Alexander Luthor. It is also the site of the start of the Apokoliptian invasion headed by Darkseid that eventually led to the disbanding of the original Justice League. But after decade of rebuilding homes and restoring morality, Metropolis could proudly say it was the home of the Justice League Beyond's Earth headquarters: The Metrotower.

Settled in the center of the city, the Metrotower stood stories above the Daily Planet building, though Batman always felt it was a little much for such a small group. A small park for tourists was located behind the tower, two fountains were settled into the front on either side of the entrance, and placed directly at the base of the tower was a set of bronze statue dedicated the founders of the original Justice League from Aquaman to the Martian Manhunter.

Batgirl was wide-eyed at the very height of the Metrotower. She had been to many cities and seen many things in her seven years of solitary travels, but never had she seen a more impressive structure. Speedy occupied herself studying the statue of the original founders, feelingrather disappointed that a Green Arrow statue hadn't been erected. Daken just stood next to Wolverine as Batman and Artemis wrangled in their starry-eyed protégées.

"You worked hard to get here," said Batman, placing a hand on Batgirl's shoulder.

"Welcome to the Metrotower, kids," said Wolverine.

"The JLB's planetary station." Artemis informed. "And our second base of operations, next to the Watchtower."

"Will we…get a chance…to see…the uh…wat…wat…," said Batgirl, struggling."

"Don't push yourself, Batgirl," said Batman comfortingly. "Sorry, but you guys aren't ready to see the Watchtower just yet. Even the new members have to wait before they're allowed access A little lesson we learned from past member who betrayed the league's trust. But don't worry, I promise I'll personally give you guys a tour of the Watchtower…when you're ready."

"Sounds like a rip-off if I ever heard one," said Daken.

"Just be grateful that we even let you into the Metrotower," said Wolverine, scolded his partner. "A lot of people have been trying to join the Justice League Beyond. We don't just invite anyone in our little group. We only take the best."

"Like that Shock kid or that Spoiler brat?" Daken snickered. Before he even realized what happened, Daken felt a pressure in his left shoulder and started to seize up. "What…the…hell…?"

"Spoiler…is good…hero," said Batgirl, glaring menacingly. She had her fingers jabbed into Daken's shoulder, pressing down hard on his pressure point. "Take…it…back."

"Easy there, Batgirl," Batman reprimanded, pulling his protégée's hand away. "You don't need to stoop to his level."

"I am…sorry," said Batgirl earnestly. "He made me…angry."

"Yeah, well, he does that to a lot of people," said Batman. Daken huffed indigently. "Just ignore him."

"Things are already getting heavy and we haven't even walked through the doors yet," said Artemis. "It's a good thing I've got a sidekick that knows when to behave."

"I kinda expected Impulse to make it worse," said Speedy. "Speaking of which, where is…"

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

The heroes turned and quickly jumped out of the way as a red and white blur flew past them, stopping only when it had successfully flipped into the fountain and disappeared in the shallow water. Just as the Flash arrived, Impulse surfaced and splashed her way to the edge. She giggled bashfully, scratching her head embarrassingly under all the stares of her superhero buddies.

"Still have to work on the breaks," said Impulse jokingly.

"Well, that's one way to make and entrance," Flash chortled. He plucked his sidekick out of the water and dried her off with a quick vibration. "We're not late, are we? Impulse was throwing a fit back at Central City."

"I was not!" Impulse pouted, trying to squirm out of her mentor's hands.

"No, we were just about to go inside," said Artemis, pulling her partner to the entrance. Batman, Wolverine, and Flash gathered their own sidekicks and stood at the entryway of the Justice League Beyond's headquarters. "This is it, kids." Daken grunted at the commented. "And over-arrogant, self-absorbed pricks. You're first official day as junior members of the Justice League Beyond. Ya ready for this?"

"Born ready." Speedy smiled confidently.

* * *

**And there is the first chapter of the Birds of Prey story, successfully introducing the main characters to the plot. I know it seems like a complete copy of the YJ, but it will change from here on out. I have many plans involved including detailed histories on the characters, the Justice League Beyond, New Avengers and Titans. I hope that by using the new writing styles I have learned while I was away will only make things better.  
**

**And to start off with the new changes, below is the first of many Profile Cards that will be introduced at every chapter, starting with the most hardcore of the Birds, Batgirl.**

* * *

**Birds of Prey Profile**

**Name: **Batgirl  
**Real Name:** Cassandra Cain-Wayne  
**Aliases: **One Who is All, The Nothing  
**Designation: **B01  
**Age: **17  
**Relatives: **David Cain (Father), Lady Shiva (Mother), Bruce Wayne (Adopted father), Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake (Adopted brothers) **Mentor/Partner(s): **David Cain (Former), Batman, Spoiler  
**Affiliation(s): **League of Assassins (Former), Bat Family, Birds of Prey  
**Occupation: **Assassin (Former)  
**Powers/Abilities:  
**- Peak Human Conditioning  
- Master Martial Artist  
- Master Assassin Training  
- Advance Body Reading Ability  
- Resistant to most toxins  
**Notes:  
**- Overly Severe Dyslexia  
- Most experienced  
- Guilt-ridden History  
- Unusually Large Appetite  
- Emotionally Unstable


	3. Team

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Team**

**_Metropolis – December 31, 14:52 EDT_**

Today was the day – their first step to becoming full-fledged members of the Justice League Beyond. Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse had no delusions of being invited to the JLB on their first day, but it was exciting to be getting a tour of the Metrotower, a privilege very few people got. Daken, on the other hand, didn't try to hide his dissatisfaction, sneering every time they stopped. It took a glare from Batman to stop his protégée from poking at his pressure points.

The Metrotower itself was enormous. Though it looked much bigger from the outside, the interior only twenty-seven levels, three of them blocked off by high-level security. On each of the levels, there was something that was used to contribute to the JLB's war against crime include a state-of-the-art training facility, a library/museum of past heroes and villains, and a Reactor Core that powered the entire Metrotower. Speedy also heard a rumor that the JLB had its own morgue where it secretly kept the bodies of past villains, but when asked, Batman firmly denied it.

The last stop on the tour was communications center/lounge room on the top floor. It was relatively low-key, but it had its own charm. Ignoring the large computer monitor and the "Authorized Personnel Only" door, there were some comfortable armchairs and a loveseat around a glass coffee table in the middle of the room. There was also a long row of bookshelves on the far right wall and a refrigerator in corner of the room next to the sink and microwave. But the best part about the floor was the view; a wide window in the front of the room that gave them the best view of Metropolis possible.

While Batgirl and Daken stayed close to their mentors, Speedy raced over to the window with gleeful expression and Impulse dashed over to raid the fridge.

"Oh, wow!" said Speedy gleefully, pressing her hands against the glass. "This is amazing! You guys are so lucky to work here!"

"Hands off the glass, Mia," said Artemis, pulling her protégée back to the couch. "Jarvis has to clean that up and it's bad enough he has to work at his age. Let's try not to make things more difficult for him." Speedy nodded in understanding. "But you're right. It is a pretty good view. But trust me; the view from the Watchtower is even better."

"Yeah, this is where the Justice League goes to relax after a hard day's work," said Flash. He was already taking the loveseat and kicking his feet up on the table. "Just make yourselves at home. Irey already is."

"Huh?" said Impulse unintelligibly. Her cheeks crammed to the breaking point with cookies, potatoes, and week-old pizza.

"Do not…talk with your…mouth full," said Batgirl slowly. As she walked around the room, her look of disappointment was visible by the slump in her shoulders. "This is…nice. But where is…"

"KYAA!"

Most of the heroes present jumped at the shriek; Daken actually ripped opened his claws with a sharp snarl. Everyone watched a purple blur dropped from their ceiling and dive for Batgirl, but was quickly caught by the arm and flipped onto the floor with a dull thud. Batgirl looked down on her attack, her eyes wide as dinner plates when she realized she had just flipped her best friend, Spoiler.

Spoiler was a superhero that was immediately recognized by the eggplant-purple costume complete with a matching cape and hood. She also wore dark-blue boots and gloves, a black utility belt with silver capsules, a black band across her chest held by a silver ring, a silver holder around her left thigh, and a blue mask that covered her face. **(Stephanie Brown – Spoiler)**

"Ow…," said Spoiler painfully. Batgirl offered her a hand up, which she accepted, laughing sheepishly. "That could have gone a whole lot better."

"Spoiler…," said Batgirl. "What are…you doing? You should not…sneak up…on me…like that. You know…what I do."

"I wanted to surprise you," said Spoiler, groaning as she took a seat. "But I forgot that you're a little jumpy and I pretty much deserved that. Still…" She glanced excitedly at the girls. "This is the big day for you. The first step to joining the Justice League Beyond. I remember when a couple years ago when I was first invited to join the JLB. I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep and I ended up crashing in the middle of the Boom Tube and somehow ended up in Gem World."

"Oh god," said Daken over the laughter of others. "This is the quality of heroes they let into the Justice League. May as well invite Ambush Bug and Booster Gold to join the League while we're at it."

"What's his problem?" said Speedy

"Just ignore him," said Spoiler. "He was born with a stick shoved up his..."

"If I can have your attention," said an eerie voice that filled the room. "We still have some unfinished business to attend to."

Impulse was just cleaning out the fridge when a pale-white face rippled through the surface of the appliance, causing her to fall back with a shriek. Impulse crawled at the speed of sound behind the Flash, earning a couple of snickers from her friends, as the specter fully emerged from the wall, shutting the fridge behind her.

It was definitely a woman, but with unnaturally pale skin, scarlet-red eyes, and completely bald except for the long ponytail of fiery-orange hair. She wore a white suit against her cleavage that clashed with her skin color, an blue skirt suspended by a red belt, blue boots, a pair of red bands on each of her biceps, and an blue cape to cover herself. **(M'gann M'orzz – Martian Manhunter)**** (1)**

"Hey!" Impulse snapped, pointing an accusing finger to the White Martian. "Not cool, man! Not cool!"

"Someone had to stop you from eating us out of stock and barrel," said the Martian Manhunter monotonously.

"Did you get everything?" said Batman abruptly.

"Yes," said the Martian Manhunter. She floated to the middle of the room and waved her hands across the air, bringing up a holographic screen with four profiles – three criminal mug shots and a high school photo. "Blight, Atomic Skull, Reactron, and Hazmat. Four supervillains, all with the ability to generate nuclear energy."

"Three supervillains and a confused kid," said Wolverine.

"Whatever," said Martian Manhunter indifferently. "Batman was right to be suspicious about today's occurrences. Four supervillains with exactly similar powers attacking on the same day in four different locations while known members of the Justice League were in the vicinity. And ignoring the different time zones, I can confirm that the attacks occurred simultaneously. This cannot be a mere coincidence."

"Yeah, Blight wasn't his usual arrogant self," said Batman. "He could have done a lot worse, but it looked like he was holding back. It's like he wanted to be beaten."

"Skull head didn't put up much of a fight either," said Speedy. "It's never been that easy to beat him before."

"So you think those were working together and lost on purpose," said Wolverine. "Why?"

"I don't know," said Batman uncertainty. "I think the best course of action is to…"

"Raven to Justice League Beyond!" At that moment, the side image of a woman with bright-white eyes and her face obscured by a deep-violet hood appeared on the side of the screen. "Raven to Justice League Beyond! Brother Blood and the Church of Blood have located the Jewel of Skath and are intending to break the wards of Trigon's seal! I need all the help I can get!"

"Raven, send all data on the seal's location," Batman commanded urgently. "All Justice League Beyond members coordinate around Raven's location. We can't let Brother Blood free Trigon!" Rave nodded in confirmation and disappeared. Batman whipped to his teammates, who were standing in attention. "Everyone, we are dealing with an Omega-Level threat. Trigon the Terrible – Raven's father – is an interdimensional demon capable of destroying hundreds of worlds. Long ago, Raven managed to seal away her father's power, but now Brother Blood is trying to free Trigon. If that happens, it's the Apokoliptian War all over again."

"Then instead of talking about it, let's move!" said Artemis. She could feel Batman glaring a hole in the back of her head. "You wanna keep frowning or do you wanna save the universe."

"Sweet," Speedy whispered to Impulse as they followed their mentors to the unknown doorway that was labeled "Authorized Personnel Only. "First a tour of the Metrotower and now a mission to save the universe. Could this day get any better?"

"Got any cheese pizza or bacon burgers in that thing?" asked Impulse, pointing to Speedy's quiver. Speedy raised a brow to her younger superhero friend. "What? I have a super metabolism."

Ignoring the every hungry speedster, Speedy followed close behind her green-clad mentor until they stopped in front of the forbidden entrance. Speedy and Impulse looked ready to explode from pure excitement, but Batgirl and Daken managed to maintain perfect composure – years of discipline go a long way. Once at the door, the small computer node hanging from the overhead activated and scanned the different members of the Justice League in a menacing-red light – Iron Man's design, obviously.

"**Recognize!**" The computer announced. "**Batman – 02! Artemis – 08! Wolverine – 12! Flash – 04! Spoiler – 15! Martian Manhunter – 07! Access granted! Boom Tube transport functions now enabled!**"

The scanner disappeared and the doors opened automatically to allow for the departing JLB members. Inside was rippling golden portal compressed by a silver ring known as the Boom Tube, an interplanetary transport tube that could travel anywhere in the world. Stronger, faster, and more functional than Zeta Beams, the Boom Tube a gift from the New Gods for defeating Darkseid years back.

No longer able to contain her excitement, Impulse did what she always does and jumped headlong into the rippling vortex. Unfortunately, the Flash snatched her by the nape of her costume, dangling her a few feet of the ground while the JLB members stared at her questionably

"And what do you think you're doing?"asked the Flash

"Going to…save the universe," said Impulse meekly like a child being scolded.

"Uh-uh! No way!" Artemis denied immediately. "This is official JLB business! We can't have sidekicks running around in the middle of a warzone! This is Trigon we're dealing with!"

"But we can help!" said Speedy

"You stay out of this!" said Batman harshly, causing many of the sidekicks to flinch. "I'm sorry I snapped at you guys, but you're just not ready for this kind of mission just yet. Trigon is as much of a threat as Darkseid or Dormammu. If he broke free, we can't risk you guys getting hurt. You're just not trained enough."

"But…you have trained us," said Batgirl softly, glancing away shyly under her mentor's gaze. "You taught us…to fight…to survive…to do what is…right. I…understand…that we might…not be ready…for this mission…but there must…be something…that we…can do. If…we cannot…use our gifts…to help…then what…is the point…of teaching us?"

"I…uh…" Batman stammered. How was he supposed to argue with that?

"Can you give us a moment?" asked Artemis.

Before he realized what happened, Batman was being dragged by his pointy ear to the corner by Artemis. She gestured the rest of the JLB heroes to huddle around, beginning a heated discussion between the members. Batgirl, Speedy, Impulse, and Daken waited on the other side of the room, watching the debate with interest. Speedy couldn't understand what they were saying, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Batgirl understood every word. She heard from Artemis that Batman's protégée had the ability to read body language to a point where she could understand what another person was thinking. Batgirl probably already knew the outcome before the JLB did

Discussions were short, probably because of the urgency of Trigon, but it didn't take long before the JLB members came to an agreement. Martian Manhunter and Spoiler stayed close to the Boom Tube transporter while the rest of them confronted their protégées.

"All right, we'll give you a mission," said Batman. He waited until Speedy and Impulse were done cheering before continuing. "But it's not the Trigon mission. As we said before, it's way too dangerous for you. So we've decided to give you another mission."

He gestured to Artemis, who constructed a holographic dossier. She handed the hard light construct to Batgirl, who immediately passed it to Speedy since she couldn't even understand the words on the front.

"The Justice League Beyond has received intelligence of an experimentation facility near Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada," said Artemis as Speedy flipped through the pages. "The facility was supposedly abandoned by the Canadian government for years, but two weeks ago, the Watchtower picked up a faint electrical charge coming from the area. We have reason to believe that someone may be using to continue the research going on there. We believe the reason we haven't picked up anything until now was because the facility is running on an independent power system."

"Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada?" said Impulse curiously. "Isn't that the place where they did…?"

"Project Weapon X," said Wolverine with a soft growl. "The same place where they did this…" The adamantium claws ripped through the skin of his knuckles, "to me. I thought I trashed the place last time I was there, but apparently they found a way to get things runnin' again. I was planning to investigate with Daken later, but we think you kids can handle this one."

"Thank you…very much," said Batgirl, bowing respectfully. "We will…not let…you down."

"Now hold up there, bub!" said Daken, leering angrily at the JLB. "So that's it! You don't want us getting in the way, so you saddle us up with some crappy investigation mission!" Batgirl covered Speedy's ears, who covered Impulse's ears, who blinked confused. "And what's this shit about me not being ready! I'm more than ready! In fact, I'm the oldest one here next to Logan, so don't give me that bull about not being ready!"

"Yes, you are older than almost everyone here," said Wolverine. "But you still act like a teenager with angst problems and you constantly argue with teammates and authority figures. Unless you learn to get your act together, you're not ready for the Justice League Beyond. Maybe working with these girls will teach you a thing or two about working with others."

"And have them drag me down to their level? Forget it," said Daken spitefully. Shooting one last sneer at them, he turned on his heel and marched toward the door. "You used to be one of the most badass guys in history, but the times have made you soft. I think it's you who needs to learn a thing or two, **_dad_**."

And with that comment, Daken left the Metrotower. A pause of awkward silence filled the room.

"That could have gone better," said the Flash jokingly.

"Word to the wise," said Wolverine, rubbing his eyes in irritation. "Never have kids you don't know about."

"Words to live by," said Artemis, smirking.

* * *

**_Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 13:23 MDT_**

The winters in Alberta could be a dangerous territory to a group of girls fresh from the states – especially for an archer from the warm California. The dead forest trees expanded in every direction, the pure, untouched snow-covered fields traveled for miles at a time, and the white-capped mountains shadowing them from above. The facility they were searching for was built into the closest mountain, giving off the feeling of abandonment. But even in this cold, heartless environment, there was still evidence of life in the area.

Soldiers dressing in full winter camouflage armed to the teeth were trudging through the deep snow surrounding the facility. Each member of the security force was distributed at points that would give them perfect visual of the area and be able to discern any potential intruders, whether it was human or animal. But in all likelihood, what idiot would even try to sneak into an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere during the coldest day of the year? But as one soldier patrol around the border of the forest…

"Ow!"

The winter soldier jumped with his gun loaded, swinging back and forth to find something to shoot. But much to his disappointment, there was nothing in sight – it must have been the wind. With a bored sigh, the soldier kept slogging on to complete his round. A full minute passed before the guard was out of sight and Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse emerge from the snow, garbed in wintery versions of their standard uniforms.

Batgirl's costume was altered to be completely white with a silver utility belt and an icy-blue rimmed bat signal on her chest. Speedy 's costume was colored white with silver clasps over her forearms and shins, but abandoned her cape in favor a white parka with the furry hood; her weapons were also painted to match the environment. The red in Impulse's costume was shifted to pale-gray, the yellow bolts changed to an icy-blue, and she wore a woolly hat to cover her bright red hair.

"Way to go, genius," said Speedy in a low tone, dropping to the ground on her stomach. "You nearly got us caught."

"He stepped on my hand," Impulse whined.

"We're just lucky that Bats gave us this Polar Stealth," said Speedy, tugging at the sleeve of her jacket. "By the way, how did Batman know we would need this tech anyway? We just found out the mission an hour ago."

"Because...he is...Batman," said Batgirl like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She peered into her binoculars, examining the facility and the horde of guards standing between it and them. "Twenty-four men…fully armed… military-grade. Total border…is two miles…which equals…to four-hundred and forty feet…visual each."

"She can't even spell the word mathematics and yet she's a genius at it," said Impulse softly.

"Polar tech…should con…con…" Batgirl stammered hesitantly.

"Conceal us," said Speedy.

"Yes." Said Batgirl. "Polar Stealth…will do that…to a limit. If we…are seen…we will…be swarmed…in a matter…of minutes."

"I can just zip over and knock them out before they even see me," said Impulse.

"No," said Batgirl quickly. "Snow is…too deep. It will…slow you down…and...kick up. They will see…you coming."

"Then we're just gonna have to go in all stealthy-like," said Speedy excitedly, pushing up to her knees after checking that the coast was clear. "Follow my lead, girls."

"Why do we have to follow your lead?" asked Impulse.

"Because I'm the leader, duh," said Speedy obviously.

"When did that happen?" Impulse snapped angrily. "I would be a way better leader than you!"

"You?" said Speedy, snorting. "You're just an eight year old kid."

"So, you're only eleven," said Impulse.

This lead to a heated debate of leadership between the two preteens, an argument that Batgirl wisely took no part in. She was focused on the matter at hand: finding a way into the Weapon X facility and uncovering the secrets inside. Though the idea of another Weapon X seemed highly unlikely. From what she read, meaning Batman read it for her, the only one to have survived the process was Wolverine due to his regenerative healing factor. There were only a limited number of people with a healing ability on the same level as Logan and all of them were presently accounted for by the JLB. If they were working on a new project, the girls needed to uncover it quickly. But unknown to the girls, the forest was littered with security cameras hidden in the trees, one of which was locked on Batgirl

* * *

Deep within the facility laboratories, work still needed to be done. The solution to adamantium decomposition and its effectiveness to biological merging was still a controversial problem, one this scientist intended to resolve. Doctor Zander Rice had spent many years of his life researching the Weapon X Project ever since his father worked in the original experiment that made Wolverine the invincible monster he was now.

But there was one thing that was constantly interfering with his plans: his sympathetic research partner, Doctor Sarah Kinney. The woman was without a doubt a gifted geneticist, but her moral integrity was a constant annoyance that hindered their progress. Her emotional attachment to their latest experiment was going to set them back for years if these practices continued. But she had a purpose and she would only remain as long as she served it. The partnering researchers were in the middle of studying their project on biological bonding when they were interrupted when two of their hired forces walked into the room, once again unannounced.

The first of them was a woman with, in most men's opinion, a bombshell body and wavy-blond hair that touched down to her waist. She wore a red, white, and blue costume with a white star stamped on her chest, and a white capital 'A' one her mask. She always wore red knee-length boots and matching gloves with star disks. Her weapon of choice was a red, white, and blue shield with a white star in the center. **(Shannon Carter – American Dream)**

The other was a dark-skinned woman with shoulder-length black hair and venomous-green eyes. Her attire consisted of a silvery-gray unitard with black-striped siding, a hole over her bosom, and three silver stripes on her leggings. She also wore a pair of silver boots with grey cuffs, a pair of black elbow-length gloves with white bands, and a black belt with a golden clasped buckle. **(Kimura)**

"What did I tell you about barging in American Dream?" said Dr. Rice annoyed, never leaving his microscope.

"To…stop?" said American Dream slowly.

"And yet, here you are." Dr. Rice sneered, wheeling himself around. "You better have a good excuse this time."

"Security footage has picked up three intruders within the perimeter of the base," said American Dream, constructing a holographic image of the footage. "All three are in costume, but none that we could classify. They all appear to be wearing winter camouflage. But just by their height and body shape, we assume the biggest one is a teenager accompanied by two minors – all female."

"It appears a couple of girl scouts have lost their way," said Dr. Rice tauntingly, returning to his work. "Kimura, please be a dear and eliminate those brats, would you? I already have enough problems with children these days."

"You can't do that!" said Dr. Kinney sharply. Dr. Rice and Kimura did not hide their expressions of disdain. "Doctor, they're only children. Don't you think sending Kimura is a little much?"

"They're costumed freaks," said Dr. Rice. "No doubt they are associated with other heroes like the Titans. If those superpowered monstrosities caught wind of our plans, everything we have done in the last fourteen years would be ruined. Especially if Wolverine knew about the project."

"Bu they're still only kids," said Dr. Kinney. "I know you enjoy the idea of killing them, but there is a more productive way. Why not send American Dream to convince them to leave? Everyone trusts American Dream – she's courteous, honest, and the leader of the New Avengers. They'll listen to her." Dr. Rice only grimaced. He was always like that when he didn't get his way. "If you hurt those girls, then other heroes will find out and they will tear this lab apart to find them."

"Fine…," said Dr. Rice in irritated manner. "American Dream, please show our guests the way out."

"Yes, sir," said American Dream, saluting before she left.

"Well, this sucks," said Kimura disappointedly. "I was hoping to see a little action in this boring place. There's nothing mildly entertaining to do around her…except 'playing' with that little weasel down in the vault. I tell ya, the brat has a nice pair of lungs." She started walking to the door with a dark grin. "You know what, I think I'm gonna head down there right now. Maybe rips out a few of toenails and a couple strands of hair. But especially the teeth, that really sets her off."

"Leave her alone!" Dr. Kinney yelled furiously as she stood up, throwing her chair down in a clatter. "She didn't do anything to deserve this! She's just a…"

"A perfect weapon," said Dr. Rice coldly. "That abomination is a weapon and nothing more. And as such, that…thing needs to learn proper discipline if we are going to maintain control over it. Kimura, make sure to make today's lessons is…memorable." Kimura grinned sadistically as she walked out of the room with a spring in her step. Dr. Kinney moved to stop her, but Dr. Rice pulled her roughly by the arm. "Listen and listen well, doctor. You're only still around because our director thinks you're useful. Personally, I think your sentimental attachments to our subjects are enough to get you fired, but the director feels otherwise. But know this: If you keep getting in my way, I will have to inform the director that you have suffered a…unfortunate accident. Do I make myself clear?"

A typical death threat, one she had heard many times. Dr. Kinney wasn't foolish enough to think he wouldn't go through with it; Dr. Rice was more than willing to do whatever was necessary to achieve his goals. Though Zander Rice prided himself as a dedicated researcher, he seemed to have his own personal reasons for being involved. He was particularly hostile towards their latest research project and Dr. Kinney could only do so much to protect it. Dr. Kinney had two choices now: continue working and act like nothing happened or do the right thing and risk getting her neck snapped by Kimura.

"Yes, sir," said Dr. Kinney lowly.

Oh, how her heart ached.

* * *

**(1)** – Based on her appearance in Titans Tomorrow.

* * *

**And there is the second chapter of the Birds of Prey. It's still a little early and there is a lot of other aspects that need to be changed, but things will get better along the way. In the next chapter, for those who don't already know, will be centered on the history of Weapon X and the first fight of the story. I will no doubt be making a lot of changes there, so look forward to it.**

* * *

**Birds of Prey Profile**

**Name: **Speedy  
**Real Name: **Mia Dearden-Grayson  
**Aliases: **Arrowette  
**Designation: **B02  
**Age: **11  
**Relatives: **Unidentified father (abandoned), Isabella Mahkent-Grayson (Mother), Artemis (Sister), Red X (Brother), Dick Grayson (Paternal Grandfather), Artemis, Cameron Mahkent (Maternal Grandparents), Bruce Wayne (Paternal Great-Grandfather)  
**Mentor/Partner(s): **Artemis  
**Affiliation(s): **Team Arrow, Birds of Prey, Batman Inc.  
**Occupation: **Student, Volunteer nurse  
**Powers/Abilities:  
**- Expert Marksmanship  
- Physical Peak of Human Condition  
- Latent Leadership Skills  
**Notes:  
**- HIV positive  
- Most Dedicated  
- Cool and Confident


	4. Weapon Plus

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Weapon Plus**

**_Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 13:52 MDT_**

The Weapon X Facility was, without a doubt, the most secure location in all of Canada. The facility was well maintained despite being out of operation for more than three decades. The complex had been built directly into the base of the mountain backdrop, allowing multiple levels for extensive research, development, and experimentation. The board of directors and the financial advocates had gone through millions of dollars to keep the facility out of the eyes of the JLB and New Avengers, providing a self-sufficient power source to keep them invisible to the outside world. However, the system was not entirely perfect.

The security guard in charge of monitor duty looked vigilantly between the dozens of screens, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious or worth noting. They may have been in the middle of nowhere, but that doesn't mean it was impossible for someone to wander inside. The guard was just observing one of the border patrol switch posts when a white tipped arrow sudden flew past his ear and hit the edge of the monitor. The guard quickly stood up and reached for her gun, but it was too late; the capsule on the arrow released a green mist, causing the guard to cough slightly until her fell to the ground, unconscious.

There was a long moment of silence, waiting to see if someone was going to look into the disturbance. But after two minutes, no one had showed up. The ventilation grate above was suddenly peeled back with a loud _creak_ and set to the side, and still no one had come to investigate. Speedy was the first to drop in, throwing of her hood to let her ponytail fly free, Impulse dived in afterward, pulling off her cap, and Batgirl landed quietly after them.

"I'm surprised they don't keep any security cameras or motion sensors in the ducts," said Speedy. She and Impulse walked over to the monitors while Batgirl hid the sleeping guard. "Okay, so we managed to get in…and it looks like we're in the security room, maybe?"

"Actually, this looks more like the monitor womb for the entire base," said Impulse, dashing back and forth between the panels. "This place is the central data storage for the entire facility. I bet if we can hack into their systems, we could get some inside information, maybe even figure out what they're working on."

"Better than accidentally walking into a room full of guards," said Speedy, looking to Batgirl. "All right, Batgirl, do your thing." Batgirl finished stuffing the guard into a box and looked at the archer, confused. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hack this sucker already."

"I…cannot."

"Eh?" said Speedy

"I…cannot…hack…commuters," said Batgirl slowly.

"Firstly, it's computers," said Speedy, looking very irritated. "And secondly, what do you mean you can't hack them? You're a bat! Bats are supposed to be good at this kinda stuff!"

"Strong…in body," said Batgirl, pointing to herself. "Weak…in mind. But…I know…someone…who can…handle this." She touched one of the ears of her cowl; an audible buzz was heard. "Oracle…can you… hear me?"

"Coming in loud and clear, Batgirl," said an unseen female voice. Speedy and Impulse looked at their teammate with interest. They had heard of the famous information broker and JLB's computer expert, but never had the chance to know her. "I just received word from Batman that he and the full Justice League Beyond roster have just made contact with Brother Blood and the Church of Blood. Things are getting really hectic over there. But besides that, what's up?"

"We need you…to hack…into…commuter," asked Batgirl.

"Computer." Speedy and Impulse corrected; Batgirl flushed embarrassingly.

"Easy enough," said Oracle confidently. "Just plug me in and I'll see what I can do."

Batgirl slowly nodded, even though Oracle couldn't see her, and reached into a hidden pocket in the wrist of her suit. From underneath the hidden layer, Batgirl retrieved a USB plug with a wire most likely connected to the electrical systems in her Batsuit. She passed the plug to Impulse – Batgirl didn't know a thing about computers and Irey would be able to find the port faster than her. Impulse dashed back and forth between the monitors in half a second before she found what she was looking for, plugging Batgirl into the system. Immediately, the computer screens changed to a vibrant-green backdrop with Oracles icon appearing on the monitors.

"Well, that was easy enough," said Oracle; her voice was coming directly from the computers. "I've seen cell phones with more security than this. Hello, people! Ever heard of firewall? Maybe next time you girls could give me more of a challenge. Anyway, what do you need?"

"Tell us…what they are…doing here," said Batgirl. "Are they…working on the…Weapon X…Project…again…or are…they…using this base…for something…else?"

"Give me a moment," said Oracle. A series of rapid-fire clicking noises were heard on the other side. "They have a number of projects going around that place, but it looks like they are focusing on recreating the Weapon X Project again. I started digging through the encryption files and found some interesting history about Project Weapon X – or should I call it Project Weapon Plus."

"Weapon Plus?" Impulse repeated.

"Yeah, that's the name of the original program when it was originally instated in 1942," said Oracle knowledgably. "Back then, Weapon Plus was involved in developing a Super Soldier Serum during World War II and was headed by Dr. Abraham Erskine under the name Project: Rebirth or Weapon I."

"Super Soldier Serum?" said Speedy. "Wait, does that mean…"

"Captain America was the first successful test subject of Weapon Plus," said Oracle. "Though at the time he didn't know what Weapon Plus was really doing. All he knew was that his country was in danger and he needed the strength to fight against villains like the Red Skull. He was just being a soldier. Weapon Plus tried to duplicate the Weapon I program several time, but with Dr. Erskine dead and Captain America missing at the time, they didn't produce a lot of success. They eventually stopped trying to replicate the serum after Weapon VII – codename: Nuke – went on a rampage. They started working with adamantium bonding from there and that's what brings us to Weapon X."

"So they're trying to recreate the bonding experiment that made Wolverine," said Speedy thoughtfully. "But how is that supposed to work? The only reason Wolverine survived was because of his mutant healing factor and no one can heal as fast as him…well, except maybe Daken and Sabretooth, but I don't really see them working here."

"What about Deadpool?" said Impulse.

"He's off making own video game," said Speedy.

"Who else…is there…for Weapon X?" said Batgirl, feeling the need to return to the main topic.

"I'm looking into that – hold on," said Oracle. There was a few seconds of fast typing. "That's weird. There's a separate file attached to the Weapon X data called Weapon X-23, but it has a lot of security measures around it. Wait…wait…oh man, this is some serious stuff. Eight layer encryption algorithms, twenty-six different firewalls, they even have multiple software drones – this thing is almost a fortified as the Bat Computer. Key word being 'almost'."

"Whatever it is, they don't want anyone finding out about it," said Impulse.

"Can you…hack it?" Batgirl asked hopefully.

"I'm trying my best, but they keep pushing me out," said Oracle with an aggravated grunt. "Maybe…"

"Hold it right there!" A new voice called out. Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse wheeled around and Batgirl accidentally disconnected the USB cord before Oracle had a chance to finish. The girls were stunned when American Dream stepped through the door. "Wait a minute. Batgirl? Speedy? Uh…Arrow Girl?"

"Uh…I'm Speedy," said Speedy.

"No, you're not," said American Dream, pointing to Impulse. "That's Speedy."

"I'm Impulse," said Impulse.

"Then who's Speedy?" American Dream asked confused.

"I'm Speedy!" Speedy yelled angrily.

"That makes no sense," said American Dream.

"You are…American Dream," said Batgirl. "You are…a hero…leader of the…New Avengers."

"That's me," said American Dream. "What are you three doing here?"

"We should be asking you the same question," said Impulse. "What are you doing all the way in Canada? You're **American** Dream, not Canadian Dream?" Batgirl and Speedy looked at her with their brows raised. "What?"

"I'm here on official business," said American Dream sternly. "I am the chief of security for the Weapon X Facility. Normally, I would take you down and hand you over to the proper authorities for trespassing, but I might be willing to make an exception for you three. I'll let you leave peacefully in exchange for forgetting everything you saw here today."

"You mean forget the fact that they're starting up the Weapon X Project again?" Speedy shouted. "You can't be serious!"

"She is…very serious," said Batgirl with certainty. "She knows…what is happening…and is willing…to fight us…for it. She is…different…from the…American Dream…we know."

"So what do we do?" Impulse asked worried.

Batgirl and Speedy didn't answer, merely stepped around American Dream, who was glaring down on them. Batgirl could see the small movements in her muscles: the little tremors in her left arm, a brief twist in her lips, her left hand clenching. She wasn't backing down; she was prepared to take on all three of them at once…and she was confident in victory. Hoping to dissuade her, Batgirl twitched her wrists and pelted a pair of batarangs faster than she could blink. Batgirl was good, if not predictable in American Dream's eyes. She steadily reached behind and pulled off the famous Captain America shield to deflect the flying batarangs.

While American Dream blocked the batarangs, Speedy had dived to the right and pulled back the drawstring to release an arrow at American Dream's feet. The arrow blew open and a set of bolas twisted around the American Dream's ankles, causing her to lose her balance. Impulse then dashed up to American Dream, jumping up and plowing both of her heels against her stomach, throwing her back by several feet, tumbling on the floor until coming to a stop. Impulse ran back to Speedy, giving her a congratulatory high-five.

"That wasn't bad actually," said Speedy.

"Ya ready to give up yet?" Impulse taunted; goofy gestures included.

"She will…not give up," said Batgirl seriously. "She is…a soldier."

"You're damn right I'm a soldier," said American Dream, ripping the bolas off with her hands. "I didn't become the American Dream by giving up whenever I got knocked down. I could have let you three off with a warning, but assaulting a soldier is a serious offense – America or otherwise. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take you three in."

"Give it your best shot," said Speedy said, pulling back the drawstring with a fresh arrow. "It's three on one – you ain't got a snowballs chance."

American Dream did not seem affected by the taunt, rather she looked even more confident. Frowning, Speedy released the drawstring and sent the arrow flying, which was deflected by American Dream's shield. Speedy reached for another arrow, but American Dream pulled back and pitched her shield across the room. Batgirl quickly jumped to the side, Impulse dashed away, and Speedy successfully ducked beneath the shield as it flew over her head. Now with American Dream weaponless, Speedy reached into her quiver and shot two more arrows.

American Dream reacted very quickly to the threat and threw out her fist; there was a sharp click coming from her glove. Suddenly, miniature versions of her shield flew out of the hidden compartment of her glove and connected with Speedy's arrows in midair. Speedy gaped for a moment; she didn't know that American Dream had a disk launcher. Not to be outdone, Speedy reached for her quiver again and pulled out another arrow. But American Dream had already released two more mini-shields, one to knock the arrow out of her hand and the other to knock away the bow.

Speedy was breathing heavy. For a moment, she thought she might have been scared, but that was only partially true. Speedy gripped her arm; she had realized she had been exerting herself more than she should. But she didn't have time to think about that before American Dream's shield crashed against the back of the head after having ricocheted against the walls. American Dream caught the shield and pulled it on just before Impulse dived in with a flying kick. Impulse pushed off the shield and made a mad dash to the other side of the room, ducking under the flying mini-disks.

While American Dream had her back turned, Batgirl leapt out of the shadows and reached to grab her by the shoulder. American Dream was quick to catch on to Batgirl's plan and ducked under her arm, slapping her shield across Batgirl's face. Batgirl stumbled back, pulling up her mask just enough to wipe her bloody lip. When Batgirl pulled her mask back down, American Dream had tossed her shield once more, but Batgirl easily ducked under the shield and charge forward.

Batgirl started with two quick jabs, which American Dream pushed aside, and followed up with a quick knee to her stomach. American Dream doubled over and was then thrown onto her back when Batgirl hit her chin with a strong palm strike. While American Dream was dazed and confused, Batgirl startled her waist and pulled back her fist, ready to deliver the finishing blow. But before she could finish, Batgirl saw American Dream's shield flying in her direction and pulled back just enough to dodge a collision to her head.

Unfortunately, American Dream was able to shake off her dizziness and catch the edge of the shield at the last moment. Before Batgirl could react, American Dream whipped the shield around and slammed it against the side of Batgirl's head. The Silent Knight stumbled to the side, dropping to her hands and knees, suddenly seeing two of everything. American Dream took advantage of her disorientation and tossed her shield at Batgirl's chest, sliding her across the ground with Speedy.

American Dream caught her shield – that was two down and only one to go. She didn't need to look very far as Impulse came charge in from behind. American Dream shook her head amusingly. She sidestepped out of Impulse's path and lifted her shield, watching the speedster collide face-first with her weapon. Impulse unconsciously flipped on her stomach and skidded across the floor, coming face to face with Batgirl and Speedy.

"Is it just me…?" said Impulse nasally, pinching her bloody nose. "Or are we getting our butts kicked?"

"Judging by the splitting headache…" Speedy moaned. "It's not just you."

"Ok, you girls had your fun," said American Dream, pulling Impulse up by the scruff of her suit. "But now you're in big trouble. We'll see what the board of directors has to say about trespassers."

Impulse thrashed wildly to break the American Dream's hand, but she had a firm grip on the speedster. Shaking her head free of dizziness, Batgirl silently unlatched one of the bottom pockets of her utility belt, releasing a bundle of silver capsules on the floor. American Dream felt one of the capsules tap against her boot and looked down. Suddenly, the capsules exploded into a cloud of black smoke, making American Dream cough and cover her mouth. She wasn't choking, so it wasn't poison. When the smoke cleared moments later, American Dream was alone in the monitor womb.

"Ok, I'll admit it," said American Dream. "That was kinda cool."

* * *

"I can't believe…," Speedy panted, holding a stitch in her side. "We got our butts handed to us by a woman with no superpowers."

"Oh, she has power all right," said Impulse. "Butt kicking powers."

"She is…a specially…trained soldier…of S.H.I.E.L.D.," said Batgirl, sounding somewhat downcast. She could only imagine the look of disappointment on Terry's face if he ever saw what happened. "Even…the Avatar…has trouble…against her."

"To be fair, she has trouble with a lot of things," said Impulse.

"Well, if I ever see her again…," said Speedy irritably. "I'm gonna – GYAH!"

Batgirl and Impulse skidded to a halt; Impulse felt a six foot long skid mark. Speedy had been pulled off to the side by her parka, which she threw off and readied one of her silver tipped arrows. It wasn't American Dream that had caught up to them, but Dr. Sarah Kinney. The facility geneticist raised her hands in surrender seeing as how the sidekick had a lethal weapon aimed at her jugular vein.

"Who are you?" Speedy questioned as Batgirl and Impulse joined her.

"Please, don't shoot," Dr. Kinney pleaded. "I don't wish to fight. I've seen you three on the news before. You're Batgirl, Speedy, and Arrow Girl…"

"Oh, for the love of…," Speedy growled.

"You're mentors are in the Justice League Beyond," said Dr. Kinney uninterrupted. "Did they send you here?"

"Yes," said Batgirl.

"American Dream will be coming any minute now," said Dr. Kinney worriedly. She quickly pressed her hands against the wall, tempting Speedy to pin an arrow through her palm. But to their surprise, a section of the stone was pushed inward and a secret elevator appeared. "Quickly, before she finds us."

Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse looked at each other in silent debate. They had a choice between following a complete stranger into the unknown and possibly risk certain death or go another round with American Dream. It only took ten seconds to decide. Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse jumped inside the elevator and Dr. Kinney pounded the twenty-third button hard enough the break it. They disappeared just in time as American Dream ran by, never knowing how close she had come to catching them. Inside the elevator, Batgirl and Speedy were acting composed in front of the doctor, but Impulse was whining loudly at the choice of elevator music.

"Thank you…," said Batgirl gratefully to the doctor.. "Who…are you?"

"I'm Dr. Sarah Kinney, the leading geneticist of the Weapon X Project," said Dr. Kinney. "Second-in-command of this facility under Dr. Zander Rice."

"So you're the one running the show, huh?" said Speedy with a suspicious glare. "Then talk to me, doc. What's going on around here? Why is Weapon X back online? And why is American Dream working security duty in Canada when she's supposed to be leading the New Avengers back in **America**?"

"I understand why you are so confused, but please remain calm," said Dr. Kinney tiredly, wiping her glasses with a spare cloth. Batgirl noticed the subtle hints in the scientist's movements that suggested she was suffering from severe stress. "To answer your second question, Dr. Rice thought it would be best to increase security around the facility, so he thought the leader of the New Avengers would be suitable for the job. He collected some technology used by the Mad Hatter and paid Deathstroke the Terminator to implement the device."

"So now we're dealing with mind control," Impulse groaned. She reached into her pocket, retrieving a sugar loaded snack. "I need more energy for this."

"What about…Weapon X?" asked Batgirl.

"I was originally hired on by Dr. Rice to replicate the Weapon X Project," said Dr. Kinney. "He understood that none of the test subjects could survive the injection sequence without the same healing factor as James Howlett. So instead of looking for new lab rats, he decided to duplicate the experiment through genetic manipulation."

"Cloning," said Batgirl.

"Yes," said Dr. Kinney. "They wanted me to create a perfect clone of the original Weapon X. But the genetic sample they provided me was damaged and one of the Y-chromosomes couldn't be repaired. I suggested they make a female clone, but Dr. Rice wanted to make a perfect replica of Wolverine. But after twenty-two failures, Dr. Rice finally agreed to make a female clone of Wolverine."

"Hence, X-23," said Impulse.

"I'm all for making advancements in science to improve the world," Speedy sneered. "But experimenting on living creatures like they're lab rats is just cruel, like Joker cruel."

"I didn't care, I was just in this for the research," said Dr. Kinney honestly. Speedy hissed angrily. "The ability to replicate and manipulate mutant DNA could unlock the secrets of human potential and ultimately change the world for the better. But…that was before…"

"Before what?" Impulse asked curiously.

"Dr. Rice only agreed to allow the female cloning…if I agreed to become its surrogate mother," said Dr. Kinney. Impulse and Speedy gasped. "I agreed because I wanted to see all my hard work come to life…but after carrying her for nine months and holding her in my arms, I just couldn't go through with it anymore. How could I even think of harming such a sweet and innocent child? I wanted to stop the experiment, but Dr. Rice is a cruel man." She covered her eyes with her hand, trying to fight back the tears. "He took my daughter away from me the moment she was born and limited any contact between me and her. I had to watch in silence for fourteen years as he put her through all that torture for his own sick pleasure. He even hired Kimura to be her handler and let her…," she hiccupped, "have her way with her whenever she felt like it."

"Kimura…," said Impulse, tapping her chin with her snack. "That sounds familiar…"

"Kimura…," said Batgirl lowly. "Was a…top killer…in the…League of…Assa…Assa…you know. She left…the League… close to…ten years…ago."

"Are you sure?" Speedy asked.

"Vividly," Batgirl leered.

"Dr. Rice and Kimura constantly push her until she breaks down," said Dr. Kinney, sniffling. "Dr. Rice forced her mutation at an early age by exposing her to radiation poisoning with ten times the normal dose and Kimura forcibly extracted her claws. I've been trying everything to make things easier for her, but it's all just too much. Then…two weeks ago…Dr. Rice went ahead with the experiment. I wanted to put it through a trial period, so he had already injected her hands and feet with adamantium. The experiment was a success, but now she's in more pain that before."

"So you sent off that electrical charge in the grid to call for help," said Impulse.

"I was hoping to get Wolverine's attention and have him save her," said Dr. Kinney. "But since you three are here, you'll have to do. Dr. Rice is planning to do a full body injection in an hour and if that happens, there's no telling what could happen to her. Please, you have to save my daughter before it's too late."

"Look here, lady," said Speedy, sounding unconvinced. "That a sad little story, but how do we know you're telling the truth."

"She is…truthful," said Batgirl with an air of certainty. "She wants…to save her…daughter…because…she loves her." She stared down at her feet with a distant look. "Any mother…would do…the same."

The rest of the trip was silent. Speedy was still a little skeptical of the doctor's story, but she trusted Batgirl's judgment. Moments passed as they steadily climbed the mountain until they finally reached the twenty-third floor. Batgirl, Speedy, Impulse, and Dr. Kinney pressed themselves against the wall once the doors open with Speedy poking an arrow around the corner. Once establishing that the coast was clear, Speedy ventured ahead down the hall with the others following behind.

The floor was empty. It was mostly a lengthy hallway leading up to a gargantuan steel door at the end of the corridor. The door was well fortified; even Batgirl's strongest explosives wouldn't be able to pierce the surface. It was a good thing they had brought Dr. Kinney with them. While Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse secured the corridor, Dr. Kinney pulled out an ID card from her pocket and swiped it through the slot of the lock computer.

"**Access Granted!**" said the computer. "**Welcome, Dr. Kinney.**"

"Is it just me or are all the computers starting to sound the same?" said Impulse.

There was a loud rumble, a few clicks, and a heavy thud before the massive door slid sideways and the girls followed Dr. Kinney inside. The chamber they entered was very small. The walls were covered in glaring-white tiles arranged in a perfectly shaped cube like solitary confinement in Arkham. But on one side of the room, there were splotches of crimson-red splattered across the walls and trace amounts of torn black hair. There was even a pile of sharpened bones starting to pile up in to corner; Impulse shivered involuntarily. It was in that corner that they saw her.

She looked like a normal human teenager with a curtain of raven-black hair tailing down her back. The resemblance between mother and daughter was undeniable from the similar facial structure to the pale-green eyes. From the thin hospital gown that she wore, she did have a solid muscle mass, but there were some parts that were very thin, as if she hadn't eaten in months. The worst part of it was finding her with the entire right half completely covered in blood, which was starting to pool around her feet.

"No!" Dr. Kinney screamed, running to her daughter.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse wheeled around to the corner where Kimura was causally leaning against the wall. "Dr. Rice was always saying you were going to ruin all the hard work you put into this little project, but the board of directors had always been adamant about keeping you on. I wonder how they'll feel once they find out you let these…sidekicks into a top secret facility."

"You won't get the chance to tell them," said Speedy threateningly, drawing back and arrow.

"Don't bother," said Kimura laughing. "I underwent some experiments myself and now my skin is completely invulnerable. Superman could take his best shot and I wouldn't feel a thing."

"We're not afraid of you!" said Impulse confidently.

"Oh, it's not me you'll have to worry about," Kimura chuckled darkly. "X-23…why don't you 'play' with these three. If you're a good girl, I might even give you a break from playtime tomorrow."

"X, please listen to me," said Dr. Kinney pleadingly. "You don't have to listen to her."

X-23 slowly was teetering dangerously on her feet, almost threatening to fall over as she lifted her head. Through half-lidded eyes, she stared at the woman who carried her during those nine months and gave her life, the one she was supposed to call mother. X-23 shoved Dr. Kinney away without remorse. X-23 brought her fists up into view and, with an inhumane shriek, two silver claws ripped between her knuckles on each hand. She hunched forward like a predator stalking their prey; her savage eyes barely visible through tangle of black hair

"I believe…the term is…," said Batgirl slowly. "Crap."

* * *

**I am so glad I had the chance to go over this again. I wish someone had told me the original draft was complete crap the last time this was up. Anyway, the next chapter will hopefully be better as well and it is a good chance to show where each character stands in terms of strength and skill. Also, people have been asking for the Jinchuriki story and I have been offer, but I never get a reply. If you are one of these people, please respond.**

* * *

**Birds of Prey Profile**

**Name: **Impulse  
**Real Name: **Iris "Irey" West  
**Aliases: **Speedy (Mistake)  
**Designation: **B03  
**Age: **8  
**Relatives: **Flash III (Father), Linda Parks-West (Mother), Jai West (Brother)  
**Mentor/Partner(s): **Flash IV (Bart), Flash V (Danica)  
**Affiliation(s): **Flash Family, Birds of Prey  
**Occupation: **Student  
**Powers/Abilities:  
-** Speed Force Conduit  
- Multi-Purpose Goggles  
- Genius Level Intellect  
**Notes:  
**- Childish Mannerism  
- Accelerated Metabolism  
- IQ of 200


	5. X-23

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

**Chapter Four: X-23**

**_Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 14:32 MDT_**

Deep in the heart of the Weapon Plus Facility, Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse were trapped in a difficult position On one side of the white-walled prison, X-23 crouched low to the floor with her fists clenched tightly; twin adamantium claws ripping through her knuckles. On the opposite side, Kimura leaned casually against the doorway, effectively cutting off their only means of escape. And in the corner, next to the pile of sharpened bones, Dr. Sarah Kinney stared worriedly between the heroes and her daughter.

"X-23…why don't you 'play' with these three?" Kimura chuckled darkly. "If you're a good girl, I might even give you a break from playtime tomorrow."

"X, please listen to me," said Dr. Kinney pleadingly. "You don't have to listen to her; you don't have to be afraid anymore. These people, they can help you."

"You're already in deep shit, doctor," said Kimura. "The bosses are going to be pissed when they find out you tried to sneak their favorite lab rat out of the Facility with three of the JLB's sidekicks. So try not to make things worse for yourself." She nodded to X-23. "X, get rid of them already."

"Can't we just talk?" Impulse suggested optimistically. Everyone stared at her with odd expressions "What? It was worth a shot."

X-23 lunged forward with her adamantium claws; her teeth bared and her lengthy-black hair flapping. Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse ducked under her flying claws, scattering to opposite sides of the room. Speedy rolled close to Dr. Kinney into a kneeling position and retrieved an arrow from her quiver, pulling back the drawstring and taking aim on X-23. But just as she eased her fingers, Dr. Kinney jumped in and pushed the bow away, shooting the arrow into the upper corner of the room.

"Whose side are you on?" said Speedy angrily.

"Please, don't hurt her!" Dr. Kinney begged. "She doesn't know what she's doing!"

"Hurt her?" said Speedy exasperatedly. "I'm more worried about her hurting us!"

X-23, who had been slashing at Batgirl moments before, took notice of the arrow and followed it back to Speedy and Dr. Kinney. She quickly forgot about Batgirl and lunged for the two, most likely assuming that they would be easier prey. Speedy finally pulled away from her argument with the doctor to notice X-23 diving at her, fumbling around with her quiver. Unfortunately, her mind was running a mile a minute and she forgot which arrow was which. X-23 was almost on top of Speedy until a gray and white blur passed between them and punched her in the face, throwing her back into the wall.

X-23 shook her head, growling as Impulse zoomed by again, kicked her in the shin, and dashed across the room out of her reach. Impulse curved around, using the wall for support, and ran back toward X-23, sliding against the smooth floor when the experiment stabbed her claws. Impulse slipped through X-23's leg and kicked her in the shin, causing her to buckle under. X-23 hissed from the initial shock and swiped her claws backward, which Impulse hastily dodged, clipping a few of her red hairs. Impulse moved around her and aimed an accurate kick for X-23's kneecap. Unfortunately, X-23 captured Impulse by the ankle at the last second, throwing her into the nearby wall.

Impulse slapped against the white tile, moaning painfully as she flopped on the floor. Soothing the pain in her head, Impulse looked over as X-23 stalked her like a savage animal, baring her claws from both sides. Just as X-23 started to make her approach, Impulse began to vibrate her body, emitting a small humming noise, and leaned forward against the wall. X-23 looked stunned when Impulse passed through the surface of the wall and her adamantium claws stabbed white tile instead of flesh. On the other side of the wall, Impulse emerged in a hallway, untouched.

"Phew, that was a close one," said Impulse, leaning against the wall in relief. Adamantium claws pierced through the stone, inches away from her head. "Aw, slag."

Impulse jumped away as the second pair ripped through o the other side of her head and moved in a circular motion, ripping open a large hole in the wall. X-23 stepped through the new entryway, looking even angrier than she did before. Impulse yelped as she ducked under X-23's swinging claw and took off down the hall, leaving a trail of dust in her wake, with X-23 following close behind. Batgirl jumped through the hole, staring down the corridor Impulse and X-23 disappeared to, and rounded to Speedy.

"I…will follow," said Batgirl, shooting a brief look to Kimura, who was smiling amusingly. "Can you…?"

"We'll be fine," said Speedy, reaching for a new arrow. "Go and help Impulse. I'll take care of tall, dark, and gruesome." Batgirl nodded and took of down the hall as Speedy pulled back the drawstring. "You gonna surrender quietly, big girl? Please say no."

"Go ahead," said Kimura, her arms open wide. "Give me your best shot."

"You don't stand a chance against her," said Dr. Kinney. "Kimura is one of the Facility's earliest attempts in recreating Kryptonian physiology in humans. She has the invulnerability of Superman, but none of his weaknesses. That's why she was assigned to be X-23's handler."

"Don't get your stockings in a twist, doc," said Speedy confidently. "I brought myself a secret weapon. A kinetic-kill side wind arrow tip with a secondary cycloid methylene RDX burst. This baby could bust through the Fortress of Solitude. Ladies, may I present to you…the Ex-Wife."

Kimura raised her brow at the oddly named arrow. Speedy smiled with confidence as she released the drawstring and watched the arrow fly across the room. The arrow hit Kimura's chest and, to Speedy's horror, bounced uselessly on the floor. Speedy, Kimura, and Dr. Kinney stared down at the arrow, which had been bent into an awkward shape.

"Oh, Hammer owes me a huge refund," said Speedy.

While Speedy showed visible disappointment of her failed weapon, Kimura crossed the room and swung around with a right hook. Speedy ducked under her fist and rolled to the side, pulling Dr. Kinney away with her. When Speedy rolled to her feet and looked back at Kimura, she had already driven her fist through the tile and pulled back without even flinching – Speedy had a good idea how strong she was now. She pulled two arrows and released them, watching them explode upon contact. Kimura staggered from the initial shock, but showed no signs of damage other than the burn marks on her shirt.

"You little brat," said Kimura. "That was my favorite shirt."

Kimura stomped across the room, ignoring the arrows that Speedy kept firing one by one. There was a steel net arrow, which Kimura ripped with ease, an electric arrow, which felt like a small twitch, and an arrow filled with liquid nitrogen that exploded over Kimura, covering her in a thick sheet of ice. For a moment, it looked like Kimura had been neutralized, but then the ice began to crack and Speedy knew it wouldn't be long before she broke loose. Speedy started rummaging through her quiver, looking for a specific arrow she thought would finally stop her.

By the time Speedy found the arrow, Kimura shattered the ice prison with a howl reminiscent to the Hulk. Speedy fumbled with the arrow, trying to align it with the drawstring, when Kimura dived after her with a flying tackle. When she finally lined up her arrow, Speedy crouched low and flipped over Kimura, releasing the grip to shoot the arrow between Kimura's shoulders. The arrow connected and hissed as it released a red-rubber foam that quickly consumed Kimura's body before she even touched the ground. The red blob hit the floor with a _splat_ and Speedy landed safely on her feet, leaning against her knees and breathing heavily.

"High-density… polyurethane foam," Speedy panted. "Never…leave home…without it."

"Are you all right?" Dr. Kinney asked concerned, catching the archer before she could fall over. "You look exhausted."

"Forgot…to take my medicine…this morning," said Speedy, wheezing. "I'm just…feeling a little…winded is all. You wouldn't…happen to know…how to make an…AIDS cocktail, would you?" The doctor shook her head. "I didn't…think so. I'll just…have to ask…Artemis to…make some…when I get back."

Speedy, using Dr. Kinney's shoulder for support, started walking towards the door when she heard something that sounded like tearing rubber. Speedy assumed the worst and looked back, confirming her theory as Kimura rampaged across the room, covered in foam particles. Speedy pushed Dr. Kinney away and reached for another arrow, but Kimura had grabbed her by the head and slammed her into the wall, using enough force to break the tiles. Kimura released her grip and watched Speedy slump to the floor, falling in and out of consciousness. The last thing Speedy heard before she blacked out was:

"Don't worry," said Kimura with a dark chuckle. "I'll take care of the good doctor for you."

* * *

Impulse dashed into the boiler room, which she guessed was on the opposite side of the Facility from X-23's cell. Impulse quickly hid behind the water heater, peering around toward the entrance of the area. X-23 had done a decent job of tracking Impulse through six levels of the Facility, most likely using her heightened sense of smell and hearing to follow. Impulse needed to stay on her toes. At the times when she thought she lost the clone, X-23 always manages to catch her by surprise.

Impulse stared fixedly at the entrance, waiting for X-23 to come charging in, but after two minutes of silence, Impulse assumed that she had found another way around. If that were the case, she needed to move quickly. Dashing between the boilers, pipes, and water pumps, it looked like Impulse would be able to slip out of the room unnoticed, and that worried her. But unknown to Impulse, X-23 was crawling through the pipework above, following her prey silently from the shadows. She stopped directly above Impulse, who was doing another scan of the area, pulled out her claws, and jumped down.

X-23 landed mutely behind Impulse, edging closer until she was only a foot away. But as she was looking around, Impulse caught sight of her reflection in the glass thermometer and saw X-23 standing above her, pulling her claws back. Impulse curled and tumbled forward just seconds before X-23's claws glided over her head and stabbed into the water heater, releasing clouds of steam into the room. When Impulse stood up and looked back, she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. X-23 had apparently got her claws stuck in the machine and was tugging relentlessly to get them back

"Well, this is quite a predicament you're in, huh?" said Impulse teasingly. She leaned against the water heater, just out the reach of X-23's other claws. "I know it's a little late to ask, but how come you only have two claws? Wolverine has three, so why don't you?" At that moment, the missing third claw ripped through the skin between X-23's toes. Impulse didn't have time to be shocked before X-23 swiped her foot across Impulse's chest with enough force to throw her into nearby pipe. "Oh…that's why."

Impulse dropped to her knees and fell forward, losing consciousness. No longer worried about Impulse running offer, X-23 could think straight and used her claws to rip open the machine just enough for her claws to slip out. Slowly stepping over Impulse's form, X-23 crouch down for a better look at her prey. She was just a child – probably not even ten years-old. Some part of X-23 told her that she should just leave her alone, but another part – the part that was scared of Kimura – told her she needed to finish the job.

Acting hesitantly, X-23 pulled back slowly, inwardly wishing that there was another way around this. And then she felt something clip her ear – a batarang clattered on the floor. X-23 felt the wounded flesh close as turned around, locking glares with Batgirl from the opposite side of the room. Somewhat thankful, X-23 kicked Impulse away and stepped closer to face Batgirl, who was undoing the latches of her cape.

"I…will be…your enemy," said Batgirl, throwing her cape to the side.

X-23 narrowed her eyes, though was hesitant to attack, not because she didn't want to her hurt, but because she knew that Batgirl was different from the other two. Batgirl was calm, cool, collected, and left no openings for an attack. But while X-23 refused to attack, Batgirl looked over her opponent. Her body language was wild and angry – anger that went beyond Kimura's abuse and the Facility's experiments. There was a sense of hurt and betrayal in her movements.

After a long minute of empty silence, X-23 finally lunged forward and swiped her claws twice, both of which Batgirl slapped away, and pivoted her talon across the bat's chest. Batgirl expertly caught X-23's foot, careful to avoid the sharp talon, and flipped her to fall on her stomach. X-23 growled and swung her talon around, but Batgirl easily stepped over it and responded with her own kick. X-23 used her forearm to block the kick and pushed back, forcing Batgirl to jump back while X-23 climbed to her feet.

X-23 dived back and forth with both her claws and talons, but Batgirl would easily dodge or block each attack and usually respond with a quick strike of her own, knocking Talon off her feet. X-23's last attack was a wild charge to stab Batgirl through the chest, but Batgirl caught the clone by her wrists, flipped her over, and kicked her in the back. X-23 crashed into wall of pipes and slumped on the floor, glaring up at the bat that was standing over her with a sense of superiority.

"Are you…ready to…give up?" Batgirl asked slowly.

X-23 snarled. She used the pipes to climb back up to her feet and made a desperate swipe at Batgirl, who deftly dodged with a simple sidestep. But as X-23 stumbled, her claws accidentally sliced through several pipes, releasing several clouds of heavy steam with a sharp hiss. Batgirl raised her arms defensively and stumbled back as the steam rolled over, obscuring her vision. When Batgirl lowered her arms and search around X-23, she began to panic. With this thick steam blocking her view, she lost her greatest strength.

As Batgirl stumbled through the haze, her paranoia began to get the best of her. She would jump at the slightest sound and one time when she thought she saw X-23's shadow, she made a quick jab and ended up hurting her fist when it connected with the steel air conditioner. Batgirl shook her hand to relieve the brief bout of pain and walked down the hazy pathway, touching the pipes and machines to guide her.

While Batgirl wandered aimlessly through the boiler room, she heard a quick session of soft footsteps heading her way, but couldn't tell where they were coming from over the hissing pipes. Batgirl waited and waited until X-23 appeared behind Batgirl, slashing both her claws down the bat's back. Batgirl dropped to her knees, wincing as the hot air caressed her four fresh cuts. Batgirl turned sharply, just in time to fall back as X-23 made a swipe for Batgirl's head. The adamantium claws managed to catch the lower half of Batgirl's mask, ripping off the stitches. Batgirl fell on her back, hissing from her wounds, and X-23 straddled her waist, using one hand to pin the bat and the other with her claws ready.

"How…did you…find me?" said Batgirl slowly. X-23 tapped her nose with her claw. "Of course. You have…Wolverine's…sense of…smile." X-23 raised her confused. "That…wasn't right...was it?"

X-23 shook her head. She pulled back and stabbed her claws at Batgirl's head, but Batgirl withdrew a batarang from her wrist compartment and locked it between the adamantium blades. X-23 hissed angrily, pushing all her strength behind her claws. For a moment, X-23's claws were getting closer to the bat's head, until Batgirl pulled her hand to the side and threw a palm strike to X-23's chin. X-23 was thrown off her prey, feeling a small degree blood spill from her broken lip. X-23 groaned as she propped herself by her elbows, wiping the excess blood from her chin. X-23 tried to lift herself up, but Batgirl suddenly appeared and pressed her heel into her chest, pinning her back down.

"Are you…finished?" said Batgirl seriously. "Because…I have…a few…"

The next thing she knew, Batgirl felt something heavy smash against the side of her head and everything went black. X-23 stared in confusion as Batgirl suddenly dropped like a log then looked over as American Dream caught her shield as it made its return trip, carrying Impulse under her arm.

"Well done, American Dream," said Dr. Rice, emerging through the haze escorted by Kimura, who was carrying Speedy over her shoulder. "As usually, we have to pick up after you mess, beast." X-23 glared hard at him. "American Dream, Kimura, please make sure our guests are placed in a security cell and remove their weapons. We don't want them escaping again. As for you, beast, I want you back in your room immediately. If we didn't need you for the finishing procedure, I would have Kimura punish you for your inadequacy."

"We can still have some fun later," said Kimura as X-23 walked past.

"Don't touch her," said Dr. Rice strictly. "We still need her in good condition for the final injection. But right now, I have more…pressing matters to attend to."

* * *

Dr. Rice walked into his office with a grimace, sorely wishing he didn't have to contact _them_. They may have been the ones to provide him with the resources and funds to complete his work, but that didn't make them any less frightening considering he had never seen their faces before. Sighing heavily at his desk, Dr. Rice pressed a few keys on his keyboard and stood in attention as seven holographic figures appeared around the room. Since they were only silhouettes, Dr. Rice couldn't see their faces, but he could tell that at least one of them wasn't human.

"You best have a good reason for this impromptu meeting, Dr. Rice," said the deep-voiced figure. "The Society has more pressing matters to attend to than answering to your every beck and call."

"Forgive me, my masters," said Dr. Rice. "But we have a bit of a situation. Three sidekicks – Batgirl, Speedy, and Impulse – have managed to breach the Facility and attempted to liberate Weapon X-23. Fortunately, Kimura managed to persuade the weapon to turn against them and they have been successfully subdued."

"And how is it…," said the strict male figure, "that they were able to find a research laboratory in the middle of nowhere after I invested millions of my father's corporate dollars to rebuild the Weapon X Project? If you manage to ruin everything I have invested, you filthy little cockroach…"

"Calm down, Alexander," said the sensual female figure. "You're scaring the poor dear. Look, he's shaking like an adorable little rabbit."

"Is it too much to ask you to keep your pants on, Selene," said the short female figure. "Or to wear pants in general."

"There's no need for jealousy…"

"Enough!" The leader shouted, bringing order to the group once more. "Dr. Rice, explain yourself."

"Looking over the hidden security footage," said Dr. Rice, "we've discovered that Dr. Kinney deliberately connected the Facilities private power source to the public grid. She was hoping to signal Wolverine and the Justice League Beyond, but it would seem that the League chose to send their sidekicks instead." He paused for a moment, thinking hard about what to say next. "Masters, if I might make a suggestion, Dr. Kinney has become too emotionally connected to the weapon and I think it would be beneficial if we…"

"Sarah Kinney is one of the most renowned geneticists in the world," said the non-human figure irritably. "She is an instrumental part of the Weapon X-23 Project. You, on the other hand, are easily replaced." Dr. Rice tightened his fist in his coat pocket. "We don't care how you do it, just make sure the weapon is ready for testing or you will lose more than just your job."

"And…what about the heroes?" said Dr. Rice.

"I've always held a fascination for the Speed Force," said the non-human figure. "Perhaps you can collect a few samples from the speed user and transfer any data you find. You can eliminate the rest."

"We have nothing to gain from killing children," said the leader. "If the JLB lost their sidekicks, it would prompt further unwanted investigations. Once the final adamantium bonding process is complete, you are to relocate the Facility and wipe the sidekick's memories clean of everything they've seen. Make certain that no one is aware of our involvement. Do I make myself clear, doctor?"

"Crystal," said Dr. Rice solemnly, cutting the connection.

* * *

X-23 sat in her usual corner in her room, which had been repaired after the extensive damage she had been done. She remained silent for the longest time, entertaining herself by drawing and withdrawing the claws from her knuckles. It was boring and tedious, but it was one of the few things she did in her solitary room that didn't involve hair ripping and bloodshed.

X-23 glanced to the opposite corner of the room, fully aware of the presence of her "mother". X-23 made it painfully obvious that she didn't want to talk to Dr. Kinney when she returned to her room, choice to disregard her existence entirely. But the woman was stubborn and refused to leave her daughter, choosing to stay and watch. They spent the better of an hour in silence until…

"They were trying to help you, X," said Dr. Kinney. "I understand that you are scared of Kimura and you might be a little confused of everything going on, but this is your chance for a better life. If you go with them, you could see the world and make friends. If you wanted, you could see your father." X-23 drew her claws again, glaring at Dr. Kinney. "Ok, stay here if you want. But as you are being poked and prodded, think about this: what would Wolverine do?"

X-23 growled softly and turned her body away from her "mother", ending the conversation. How was she supposed to answer such a question? After all, she wasn't Wolverine.

* * *

**Now with this chapter out of the way, there is only one more until this little arc ends and, as promised, I will post some chapters for Fairy Tail. I'm feeling a little better about this chapter because it displays the various abilities of each hero and proves once and for all that all Bats are hardcore badasses. And a first look at the main villains of the story, the Society. Until next time, please read and review.**

* * *

**Ultimates Profile**

**Name: **American Dream  
**Real Name: **Shannon Carter  
**Aliases: **Captain America, Dream Girl  
**Designation: **none  
**Age: **25  
**Relatives: **Agent 13(Mother, deceased), Peggy Carter (Great-Aunt)  
**Mentor/Partner(s): **Captain America, Winter Soldier  
**Affiliation(s): **Avengers, Captain America Corps, Dream Team (Former)  
**Occupation: **Tour guide (Former), SHIELD agent  
**Powers/Abilities:  
-** Peak Physical Condition  
- Disk Launcher  
- Captain America's Shield  
**Notes:  
**- Thorough knowledge of Avengers history  
- Degree in Military Science  
- Possible relation to Steve Roger


	6. Resolution

**Birds of Prey**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own DC, Marvel, or any other characters outside of OCs.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Resolution**

**_Cold Lake, Alberta – December 31, 18:29 MDT_**

"Ugh…what happened last night…" Speedy mumbled.

Deep within the Weapon X Facility, Speedy began to stir; her vision misty and her head throbbing painfully. Her vision cleared slowly, and took the time to notice that she was not in the white-tiled room where she had been knocked unconscious. She was chained to the farthest wall of what looked to be the Facility's laboratory, which had several computers and liquid filled tubes connecting to a large containment pod in the middle. Speedy looked herself, noting that her bow and quiver had been taken.

To her left, Impulse was suspended a couple feet off the floor due to her height and was struggling fruitlessly with her chains. It seemed like she tried to vibrate her way through them, but the shackles had been custom made to shock her whenever she moved too fast. To Speedy's right, Batgirl just stood silently, glaring at the number of people in the room. As Speedy looked her over, she realized Batgirl had not only been relieved of her utility belt, but her arms and legs had been pinned together. They must have seen her as a bigger threat that the other two.

American Dream was standing around the table to their right, inspecting the arrows in Speedy's quiver, while Kimura tried to pry open Batgirl's utility belt. Kimura cursed loudly when she tried to open one of the compartments and received a nasty shock. Dr. Kinney was staring at the monitor next to the pod, looking more sullen than usual, and X-23 sat in the corner next to her, looking like a child who had been put in timeout.

The last man Speedy didn't recognize: middle-aged with bright orange hair wearing a stereotypical scientist coat. The label pinned to his lab jacket said "Dr. Zander Rice". So this was the guy who started the whole mess. Dr. Rice looked like he had just finished putting together some strange device – it looked like an automated syringe – and walked over to Impulse first. Impulse started struggling harder, clearly afraid of what the doctor might do to her, but Dr. Rice pulled her hair to keep her still, and stabbed the needle in the base of her neck. There was a soft hiss and the tube filled with Impulse's blood.

"Not bad armaments," said American Dream as she inspected one of the arrows. "I wonder if she and Hawkeye shop at the same place."

"Hey, those are mine!" Speedy yelled. "Artemis made those especially for me!"

"Ah, it would appear that out little archer is awake," said Dr. Rice. He removed the tube of blood from the syringe and pocketed safely."I was starting to worry that maybe Kimura had killed you, Arrowette."

"For the last time!" Speedy shrieked. "MY – NAME – IS – SPEEDY! Why is that so hard to remember?"

"Maybe you should change the name," said Impulse innocently. "I mean, calling yourself Speedy when you're not a speedster doesn't make a whole lot of sense. People on your blog say that you should have called yourself Red Arrow or something."

"You're not he – wait, I have a blog?" said Speedy.

"What…do you want…with us?" said Batgirl,

"Our original objective had nothing to do with you." Dr. Rice explained, replacing the tube in the syringe. "But now that you've discovered our facility, we can't very well let you leave this place without taking proper measures. The Board of Directors has asked me to retrieve a sample of the speed user for immediate study." He moved to Speedy. "They didn't ask for you or Batgirl's DNA, but I think we could get much use out of the League of Assassins' 'One Who Is All'. And…well…I feel it is better safe than sorry."

"Gee, thanks," said Speedy sarcastically.

"Dr. Rice," said Dr. Kinney. "The adamantium bonding process is ready to begin."

"Then what are you waiting for?" said Dr. Rice harshly, forcing Speedy's head to the side. "We need to finish the project quick so that we may begin transferring to the new facility. It's only a matter of time before the Justice League Beyond realizes their sidekicks are missing."

Dr. Rice stabbed the syringe into the side of Speedy's neck; the soft hiss told her that the blood had been drawn. Dr. Kinney watched sadly as her partner drained the heroes and looked away, signaling her daughter to get ready for the injection. X-23 obediently stripped out of her gown and stepped into the pod, not even flinching as her "mother" pierced her skin with the tubes that would distribute adamantium in her bones. X-23 looked over at Speedy, who looked sicker than usual when Dr. Rice removed the needle. Dr. Kinney finished securing the breathing mask when she suddenly stooped down to meet X-23's eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" asked Dr. Kinney. "This is your last chance to decide."

X-23 said nothing, choosing only to glare at the woman. Dr. Kinney understood that from the moment she had been born, everything had been planned out for X-23: her isolation at birth, her forced mutation at four, her training at six, the adamantium bonding to her limbs at ten, and now they would complete the process at fourteen. X-23 had given up the right to choose a long time ago. Staring sadly at her daughter, Dr. Kinney returned to the monitor and began the bonding sequence, filling the pod with cool liquid to alleviate the burning process. As the fluid rose above her head, X-23 stared through the blurry glass to Batgirl and the others.

Impulse was still struggling with her chains and Speedy was dangerously pale, looking close to vomiting. And then she saw Batgirl. Even as Dr. Rice pocketed Speedy's blood and moved on to Batgirl, she did not cower. She glared at Dr. Rice, almost daring him to take her blood, and then she shifted her gaze to X-23. The moment their eyes met, there was some sense of understanding between them, something that made her think back to the failed rescue.

Though Speedy and Impulse tried to keep their distance from X-23, possibly fearing what Wolverine's clone would do to them, Batgirl was the only one who confronted her. From the first five minutes alone, X-23 understood that Batgirl was older, faster, smarter, and stronger – everything X-23 could do, she could do better. So why…why did Batgirl not kill her like Kimura would have done? What did she want from her? At that moment, she remembered the words her 'mother' had said just before.

* * *

**_-Flashback-_**

"They were trying to help you, X," said Dr. Kinney. "I understand that you are scared of Kimura and you might be a little confused of everything going on, but this is your chance for a better life. If you go with them, you could see the world and make friends. If you wanted, you could see your father." X-23 drew her claws again, glaring at Dr. Kinney. "Ok, stay here if you want. But as you are being poked and prodded, think about this: what would Wolverine do?"

**_-End Flashback-_**

* * *

X-23 growled, cursing herself for being so weak, not just against Batgirl, but against the likes of Kimura and Dr. Rice. She had watched Wolverine for years, studying him and understanding his true nature. There was no way he would roll over like a whimpering dog because he was afraid of getting hurt. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, slowly waded and pressed herself against the surface of the pod.

Dr. Rice pushed Batgirl's head to the side and began to press the needle against her skin when the sound of breaking stole his attention and looked back. X-23 had smashed her way out of the pod, her claws exposed and tubes sticking to her bare body. American Dream quickly reached for her shield and Kimura lunged forward, but X-23 skillfully jumped off of Kimura's shoulder and jumped at Dr. Rice. X-23 swiped her claws, but instead of killing Dr. Rice, she cut the chains around Impulse's wrists.

Now free of her shackles, Impulse zipped across the room, kicking at American Dream and Kimura's ankles to trip them, and made a wide turn toward Dr. Rice. Impulse jumped up and slammed both feet into Dr. Rice's chest, slamming him into the wall, where he slumped weakly to the floor. One of the test tubes fell out of his pocket and smashed on the floor, but Impulse couldn't tell which one. At that time, X-23 had sliced through the chains holding up Batgirl and Speedy when Kimura grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled back hard.

"You really did it this time, bitch," said Kimura angrily. "I don't give a shit what the board wants, your ass is mine." She curled her fingers into a fist and pulled back when her arm suddenly went limp. "What the…"

Two gloved fingers pressed against Kimura collarbone before she could finish, rolling her eyes back with a heavy moan before falling sideways. X-23 massaged her hairline and looked back to see Batgirl securing both Dr. Rice and Kimura with a pair of handcuffs she had pulled from her utility belt. X-23 didn't even realize that Batgirl had gotten her belt back to begin with.

"How…did you do that?" said X-23 in amazement; her voice was much softer than she had expected.

"Strong outside," said Batgirl slowly. "Weak inside."

"Pressure point! Nice!" said Impulse, dashing between the pair. "Hey, I didn't know she could talk. I thought she just growled."

"Well, you'll find that **_she _**can talk." X-23 snarled. Batgirl glared at Impulse.

"What? It's not like I said it." Impulse shrugged. She looked over X-23 again and the first thing that came out of her mouth was: "You do realize you're naked, right?"

X-23 raised her brow, oblivious to the obvious embarrassment that she should be feeling. But out of her peripheral vision, X-23 saw a blue of red, white, and blue flying toward them and pulled Batgirl and Impulse to the floor. American Dream's shield rebounded off the back wall and against the ground before returning to its owner. X-23 snarled and charged, slashing her adamantium talons against American Dream's shield with little success. American Dream smacked her shield against X-23's face, throwing her back to the others and stood ready as Batgirl and Impulse charged together.

But while American Dream singlehandedly defeated the sidekicks, Speedy stealthily made her way behind the lab table and picked up her weapons unnoticed. Speedy flipped the bottom of her quiver, revealing a hidden cache of arrow tips. She carefully selected one and twisted the top, exposing the needle inside before she pricked it into forearm. The arrow point was a supply of her medicine and sighed in relief as she felt the drug course through her veins.

"It might not be as strong as my regular medicine," said Speedy, tossing the empty syringe, "but it should be enough to get me through."

"Speedy" said Dr. Kinney, appearing suddenly around the table. "Speedy, we have to help the others. They're strong, but they don't stand a chance against American Dream. She has years of military experience under her belt; they don't stand a chance."

"One, thank you for getting the name right," said Speedy. She peeked over the table top just in time to see Impulse jump on American Dream's shield, only to be thrown back. American Dream then kicked X-23 in the chest before tossing her shield aside. She briefly locked fists with Batgirl before she was knocked back by American Dream's shield. "Two, how are we supposed to help? Batgirl's the best of all of us and she's getting her ass handed to her."

"Remember what I said about Rice using the Mad Hatter's technology to control her?" asked Dr. Kinney. Speedy nodded. "I just remembered that the programming chip is lodged at the tip of her spine. You're Artemis' sidekick, think you can hit it?"

"Are you kidding?" Speedy grinned, taking an arrow from her quiver. "I'm the third best at what I do."

"Is that really something you can brag about?" said Dr. Kinney.

With a dissatisfied grunt, Speedy peeked over the table and took aim, noting that Batgirl, Impulse, and X-23 were still taking a beating. Rather than shoot American Dream directly, Speedy shot the arrow in the opposite direction. Dr. Kinney looked ready to yell, but Speedy shushed her and gestured her to watch.

The arrow rebounded off the floor crevice, off a pipe, off the roof of the broken pod, and sailed smoothly into the back of American Dream's neck. American Dream staggered when the arrow hit and shrieked as the arrow discharge ten-thousand volts of electricity through her system. The mind control chip exploded off American Dream's neck and the woman herself dropped to her knees, falling unconscious on the floor.

"That wasn't so bad," said Speedy.

"Speak for yourself," X-23 sneered, wincing for her healing bruises.

"Can you put this back on, please?" said Impulse, handing X-23 her gown. "It's not exactly legal to be…flashing people." X-23 didn't look like she understood, but she put the hospital gown back on nonetheless. "That's better, but why do you have hair – "

"Just stop right there," said Speedy bluntly.

"We need…to…escape," said Batgirl. "It…will not…be long…before they…awaken. We should…make our way…back to…the elater…" Dr. Kinney and X-23 looked confused; Speedy and Impulse were too tired to correct her, "and make…our way…to the clearing. We will…contact the…Justice League Beyond…when we are …away from…the facility."

"The elevators and access doors are all controlled by computer," said Dr. Kinney. "Zander will have the entire Facility locked down before we can get to the ground floor."

"Then how are we supposed to get out?" X-23 sneered.

"There's always an emergency stairway in case of power failure," said Dr. Kinney. "This facility has the best equipment money can buy, but it is still prone to system failures during the winter. That's why Zander and the others didn't notice when I sent the signal out."

"Why don't we continue this chat while we're moving," said Speedy, pointing to American Dream, who was starting to stir. "I don't know if that chip did any damage to her brain and I don't want to stick around to find out."

The women turned and raced down the open access corridor, impulse speeding ahead of the others. She was the first to reach the emergency stairway, skidding to stop herself and had to double back when she missed the door by a wide margin. By the time she came back, Speedy had already kicked the door open and clambered onto the landing with the others. Speedy leaned over the railing, noting that they were unable to see the bottom.

"There's no way we'll get out of here in time!" X-23 snapped, turning to Dr. Kinney with her claws out. "You screwed us over!"

"Before you go into a rampage," said Speedy calmly, pulling an arrow, "check this out."

Speedy aimed her bow to the ceiling and released the drawstring, shooting the arrow into the concrete with a length steel wire connecting it to Speedy's quiver. After checking to see that the line was secure, Speedy connected the wire to her bow and jumped over the railing, smoothly descending down the stairway. Batgirl gestured for Impulse to climb down next and then X-23 afterwards. She winced when the skin of X-23's palms started to peel off, but knew her healing factor would resolve it. Batgirl signaled for Dr. Kinney to go next before she followed, but Dr. Kinney hesitated.

"Dr. Kinney…," said Batgirl softly. "We need…to go…before…"

"I know, I know," said Dr. Kinney with concern apparent in her voice. "It's just that…Weapon Plus isn't going to let this go easily. No one has escaped the Facility alive since the original Weapon X. The board of directors is very strict when it comes to keeping secrets."

"We will…be fine," said Batgirl, placing a comforting hand on the doctor's shoulder. "I promise."

"I have no doubt that you four will get out of here safely," said Dr. Kinney as she started rummaging through her pockets. "There are so many things I want to say to X-23, to my daughter. If I get the chance, I'll tell her everything myself. But in case something should happen…" She forced a piece of folded paper into Batgirl's hands. "If something does happen to me, I want you to give her this. It has everything I've ever wanted to tell her. Promise me you'll give her this."

Batgirl stared at the small noted like it was a valuable treasure. She didn't have to read Dr. Kinney's body language to know that she genuinely cared about her daughter, even if X-23 wanted nothing to do with her. For a fleeting moment, Batgirl began to wonder if her own mother felt the same way, but quickly shook the thought away. Dr. Kinney was different than her mother.

"You can…tell her…yourself," said Batgirl, though she pocketed the note in her utility belt anyway. "Hang on."

Batgirl secured her arm around Dr. Kinney's waist and grabbed the wire, slowly carrying them down to the bottom.

* * *

"Of all the useless…Ugh!"

It was shortly after Batgirl and the others had fled that Dr. Rice started to regain consciousness and realize what had happened. X-23 had escaped, American Dream and Kimura were down, Dr. Kinney was missing, and he had lost one of his samples. Though Dr. Rice was grateful that it was only Speedy's blood. Dr. Rice was furious, not because he was beaten by a little girl, but because the beast had made a fool of him. For the longest time, he wanted to make her suffer for what Wolverine did and this was the final straw.

"Computer, activate voice command override!" said Dr. Rice.

"Voice command override initiated!" said the computer.

"Disengage contained unit "World" and initiate priority protocol!" yelled Dr. Rice. "Activate Weapon XV!"

* * *

On the ground floor of the Facility, five security personnel were collecting the last of the equipment needed before they made the transfer to the new facility. They were moving everything out when a red blur dashed by and kicked two of the guards in the face and stomped them into the ground. The other guards dropped their cargo and reached for their weapons, but two of them were rendered unconscious with an electric arrow in their chests, and Batgirl dropped down on the last one with a quick punch to the face.

"Damn it," growled X-23, dashing in with her mother. "You could have left a few for me. There were a couple of uh…experiments I wanted to try for myself."

"I think they're safer this way," said Impulse.

"The main entry gate is controlled remotely by Dr. Rice's personal computer," said Dr. Kinney, motioning to the twenty foot steel door separating them from the outside. "I could try to access the terminals and override the programming, but it could take a while before I make any progress without tripping the security system."

"Or we could do it the fun way," said Speedy.

Speedy looked over to X-23 with a grin, who returned the grin as she unleashed her adamantium talons and launched herself at the reinforced doorway. Her claws ripped through the sturdy alloy like it was made of paper, shredding and scraping away the surface piece by piece. In less than a minute, X-23 slashed through the final piece of steel and allowed the harsh winter winds to blow into the Facility. Though it was admittedly cold, having only a hospital own to wear, but X-23 ignored the chill in her bones as a new feeling took over. For the first time in her life, she was outside the Facility – it was wonderful.

"You're right…," said X-23, looking back at them, "that was fun. Now let's get the fu – did you here that!"

"I didn't hear anything," said Impulse, pulling on her wool cap.

"Maybe you're just a little paranoid," said Speedy, throwing on her fur lined hood. "I guess you're still worried about Kimura coming down and beating the living daylights out of you, but don't worry about it. From now on, it's nothing but smooth sai…"

Speedy's speech was cut short by a pulse of unknown white energy that blasted through the side walls, throwing her and the others in a blinding light. X-23 was blown back by the shockwave and landed in the snow, rubbing her sore eyes before climbing back through the partially collapse entryway. She did a quick survey of the corridor, amazed at how much damage had been done in such a short time. The rock walls had been fractured dangerously, many of the support beams had melted, and X-23's nose caught whiff of burning flesh. She sincerely hoped it wasn't what she thought it was.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding when a pile of rubble was shifted to the side and Batgirl emerged from the wreckage with Speedy and Impulse under her. It seemed that Batgirl had thrown herself onto Speedy and Impulse to shield them from the blast and left them with only a few cuts in their cloths. Batgirl wasn't as badly hurt either: the four cuts on her back were from her fight earlier with X-23, so the worst the blast did was partially singe her costume and ripped open a hole in her mask, exposing a few strands of black hair.

"Is everyone…all right?" asked Batgirl.

"A-Okay," said Impulse with a thumbs-up.

"I'm fine," said Speedy, massaging her stiff shoulders. She looked around for a moment, noticing that something amiss. "Hey, has anyone seen the doc?"

"Found her…," said X-23 lowly.

X-23 followed the smell of charred flesh into the corridor and found the remains of what used to be her 'mother', or at least who she thought was her mother. It was difficult to tell since her entire body was burned black, her limbs stretched in awkward positions, and her bones had been splintered from the piles of rubble that had fallen. The only confirmation was the half burned ID tag on her charred coat with a picture of the doctor. Dr. Kinney was dead and X-23 didn't know how to feel about it. She wasn't happy, or confused, or frustrated – she felt nothing.

Impulse and Speedy looked concerned and tried to walk over, but Batgirl pulled them back by their shoulders. She could tell by X-23's repulsed expression that the sight was not something suited for small children, even if they were superheroes. They didn't need to be exposed to that kind of stuff just yet. Batgirl tactfully chose to redirect their attention to source of the explosion, who she realized had just walked into the chamber.

The thing was unimaginably tall, well past the eight foot mark, and was covered from head-to-toe in blue and violet plating with thin black armor beneath, circles of light on its arms and chest with small electrical nodes, and a black helmet with a single node that made it look like a Cyclops. **(Weapon XV – Ultimaton)**

Batgirl cautiously pushed Speedy and Impulse back as X-23 stepped over to stand by them. Ultimaton stood like a sentry over the girls, merely contenting itself with staring at the four humans with its single glowing eye.

"What is that thing?" said X-23.

"I don't know," said Impulse thoughtfully. She twisted the lens of her goggles and her vision shifted between different spectrums: night, x-ray, inferred, gamma, and finally stopped on microwave vision. "This guy is giving off massive spikes in electromagnetic radiation – more centralized towards the ultraviolet aspect of the spectrum rather than inferred. Luckily, I don't see any traces of gamma, so he mostly stationary in the shorter wavelength."

"In English, Einstein," said Speedy insipidly. "Not everyone has an IQ of 200."

"The guy's a walking sunlamp," said Impulse simplistically. "The weirdest thing is that he gives off bursts of electromagnetic radiation in the form of electricity. That must be what those nodes on his chest are for."

"What do…you think…he wants?" asked Batgirl.

"Weapon XV: Ultimaton – Online!" Ultimaton announced mechanically. "Safety protocols – disengaged! Primary objective – capture and contain Weapon X-23! Secondary objective – eliminate all opposition! Engaging battle mode!"

"Uh…it's for you," said Speedy.

"I noticed," X-23 snarled, pulling her talons.

Batgirl, already understanding X-23's mannerism, tried to stop her before she did something stupid, but X-23 had already jumped ahead without listening. Ultimaton scanned X-23 for a moment and held out his fist, discharging a quick burst of electromagnetic energy, hitting X-23 square in the chest. X-23 tumbled backward, but used her claws to regain her footing and waited until the wound in her chest had closed charging again. Ultimaton had calculated X-23's attempts and this time used both fists to release a much larger burst of energy that blasted X-23 out of the Facility and into the snow.

Ultimaton scanned the area where X-23 landed, calculating the possibility of the target's potential elimination. But while it was busy processing, a white-tipped arrow impacted against the central node on its head and detonated a moment later. Speedy didn't wait to see how much damage she had done, knowing the machine was heavily fortified, and started whipping arrow after arrow, pulling the drawstring hard enough to where it might snap. She shot its legs with liquid nitrogen, hit its stomach with foam rubber, and detonated more explosive arrows around the head and chest.

Speedy pulled out one last arrow, pulled the drawstring, and waited until the smoke cleared, very aware of her depleting arsenal. She needed to make every shot count. When the haze subsided, Speedy groaned at Ultimaton, who emerged from the assault without even a scratch on his armor. Ultimaton beeped and raised his fist again, unleashing a wave electromagnetic energy, which Speedy had to roll away from. She jumped back into a kneeling position and released her grip on the drawstring. Much to Speedy's disappointment, Ultimaton caught the arrow in his giant hand and snapped the shaft like a twig.

As Ultimaton discarded the broken arrow, Impulse zoomed into view, spinning in circles around the mechanical giant in her best effort to confuse it. Ultimaton didn't make any move against her, possibly trying to scan her speed, until Impulse diverted from her path and jumped at Ultimaton with both her feet forward. Impulse landed her kick on Ultimaton's chest, but was rebuffed and flopped on the ground with an annoyed groaned. Impulse looked back up at Ultimaton and found herself face to face with his fist, which started collecting energy. Impulse quickly flipped back to avoid the shot and dashed to the other side of the chamber.

While Ultimaton blasted her electric waves at Speedy and Impulse simultaneously, he failed to notice that Batgirl had vanished from the battleground. She didn't realize this until Batgirl jumped down from the rafted and landed on his back, slapping a handful of putty on his central node. Batgirl flipped off Ultimaton's back as he tried to rip the substance of his face and pulled out a small trigger from her belt. With a press of a button, the putty exploded and Ultimaton stumbled drunkenly into the wall. Unfortunately, that's the most it did as Ultimaton seem had no damage.

But the out of nowhere, X-23 leaped on Ultimaton and slashed her claws across his chest, leaving a wide scar in the nearly impenetrable armor. X-23 pulled back her hand for another swipe, but Ultimaton caught her by the ankle and swung her around before throwing her at Batgirl. She and X-23 were thrown back down the corridor in a jumbled mess, leaving Speedy to cover them while they untangled themselves. Speedy fired two more explosive arrows, which caused Ultimaton to stagger at the most, and reached behind for another arrow. However, she soon realized she only had one arrow left.

"Slag," Speedy cursed.

"Fall back!" said Batgirl. "Fall back!"

Speedy and Impulse obediently jumped behind one of the larger piles of debris for safety while Batgirl tried to persuad X-23 to follow orders. X-23 was stubborn to continue fighting, but one glance of the infamous Bat-Glare™ made her see things her way. Batgirl and X-23 jumped behind the rubble with their teammates just before Ultimaton shot a blast of energy over their heads.

"This…is bad," said Batgirl. "None of…our weapons…are strong enough…to damage him. The closest…thing we have…is X-23's ada…ada…metal claws."

"Then let me at him," said X-23, flashing her claws in emphasis. "I'll rip that son of a…" She stopped herself as Batgirl shot another glare, realizing that there were children present. "…gun into a million pieces."

"Yeah, not gonna happen," said Speedy. "That thing – Ultimaton – won't even let you get near him as long as he keeps shooting those electric-magnet waves…"

"Electromagnetic," said Impulse, giggling.

"Whatever," Speedy grumbled. She hated being corrected by a little girl. "And even if you do manage to get close enough, you'll never be able to rip off his armor in time before he fights back. Excuse me for saying this, but you're not physically strong enough to do any major damage."

"And I suppose you have a better idea," X-23 hissed.

"I do have one arrow left," said Speedy, pulling out her last arrow. "Artemis said this is extremely dangerous and should only be used in cases of emergencies."

"I think this counts as an emergency," said Impulse.

"Artemis was very specific about this arrow," said Speedy seriously. "She said I should only shoot it from fifty feet away and make sure that no civilians are caught in the crossfire."

"What is it?" asked X-23.

"No idea, but I think we're about to find out," said Speedy, pulling the arrow back on her bow. "Now, anyone got any ideas on how to get the big guy outside and to a safe distance."

"I might…have an…idea," said Batgirl.

Ultimaton scanned the area through his central node, finding it unsettling that the weapon and her liberators had remained silent and out of sight. As he started turning his head to the right, he caught sight of something moving in the corner. It was Impulse bravely dashed across the chamber and, while Ultimaton was calculating what to do next, climbed the sentinel machine like a wild monkey, taking a seat on his shoulders. Impulse reached into her pocket and pulled out another plastique she got from Batgirl, splattering it on the machine's eye.

Ultimaton, somehow falling for the same trick twice, reached up to remove the putty while Impulse jumped down to safety and X-23 lunged forward and stabbed her adamantium claws through the machine's chest. With a single swing, X-23 was able to rip open a large hole in Ultimaton's chest and kicked him with enough force to knock him on his back. X-23 jumped off and out of the way as Batgirl tossed a batarang attached to a thick thread of wire, wrapping the cord around Ultimaton's ankles. Batgirl ripped the cord from her utility belt and handed it off as Impulse ran by.

"Impulse – GO!" yelled Batgirl.

"On it!" said Impulse with a salute.

Despite her small stature, Impulse was able to drag Ultimaton's heavy metal body across the ground by using her super speed to increase the force behind her pull. Impulse pulled Ultimaton into the snow-covered wilderness, where it became more difficult to move and forced her to speed up, getting dangerously close to light speed. Impulse feared that her "condition" might start to kick in, but quickly found a safe distance away from the Facility and dropped Ultimaton. Impulse did a quick loop around the trees and raced back to the Facility, where she found Speedy poised with her bow ready to fire.

"Now!" yelled Impulse.

When the signal was given, Speedy released the drawstring, which finally snapped under all the pressure. The arrow glided through the rough winter winds, over the trees, and started to tilt down toward Ultimaton, who was still pulling at the putty. Ultimaton never saw the arrow flying through the branches, miraculously landing in the opening in his armor. By the time Ultimaton managed to rip the putty off his face, the arrow passed an electric charge through it shaft and then came the big BOOM!

A rippling wave of radioactive energy passed through the forest surrounding Ultimaton's location, obliterating everything within a thirty foot radius of the blast zone. Even at a safe distance, the shockwave of the explosion finally loosened the final support of the Facility, bringing the mountain to collapse upon itself. Batgirl and X-23 grabbed Speedy and Impulse respectively and jumped into the snow, just barely able to get out before the entrance was shut. When the blast had subsided, Batgirl and the others appeared one by one, observing the extensive damage. A massive crater was all that was left of the area – not even a single blade of grass had survived.

"Oh, so that's what it does," said Speedy.

"Are you out of your slagging mind?" Impulse shrieked frantically. "What kinda of insane sociopath gives an eleven year-old girl a mini-nuclear warhead?"

"Well, it doesn't matter how it happened," said X-23, falling back into the snow exhausted. "All that matters is that it's finally over."

"Yes…," said Batgirl, joining them in the snow. "Over…"

After a long day in Weapon Plus, the girls were ready to finally call it a day. But just when the girls thought they could relax, the snow beneath them exploded, scattering them in different directions, and they looked up to see Ultimaton standing over them. He looked very worse for wear with his armor shattered in many places, various liquids secreting through his skin, and his right arm was missing entirely. Despite all the damage, Ultimaton looked ready to continue while Batgirl and the others were exhausted both mentally and physically.

Ultimaton raised its last functioning node at X-23 and started to charge its energy when he was interrupted by an animalistic snarl, one deeper and rougher than X-23's. With a flash of silver, Ultimaton's head was divided into four parts, scattering broken circuits in the snow, and the body fell helplessly to the side. X-23 stared with wide eyes at the broken body of Ultimaton and followed the trail back up to her rescuer, his blue and yellow costume covered in snow and his three metal claws glinting in the moonlight.

"Wolverine…," said X-23 in a hushed voice.

Wolverine stood like a stalwart hero over Ultimaton's body and he wasn't alone. One by one, the members of the Justice League Beyond began to appear, surrounding the sidekicks and the Facility entrance. Speedy and Impulse stared with the mouths agape, having never seen the entire league together in one place. To their right were Superman, Static, Iron Man, and Doctor Fate. To their left were Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Warhawk, and Raven. And being carried by the Green Lantern on a green platform was Batman, Aquagirl, Artemis, Spider-Girl, Micron, Spoiler, and the Avatar – as usual, the Flash was the last one to show up.

"Outrageous!" said Aquagirl loudly, looking to the crater. "Look at the size of that hole, old chum! It reminds me of the time I traveled to Santa Prisca to stop a supply of illegal drugs being sold by a band of rogue pirates."

"Ugh, someone make her stop," Spider-Girl pleaded.

"Speedy!" Artemis yelled loud enough to make her sidekick flinch. She examined the damage done by her sidekick. "Did you use **_that _**arrow?"

"It's was an emergency," said Speedy feebly.

"Yeah, well, you're just lucky we managed to find you," said Wolverine gruffly. "When we didn't hear from you guys after a few hours, we got worried and started lookin' for ya. If Supes hadn't seen the blast, we never would have found ya." He looked over the girls and stopped at X-23. "I've never seen you before. Who are ya?"

Though it seemed only obvious to Batgirl, that comment seemed to strike a nerve in the X-23 – her fists were shaking angrily.

"This is…"

"My codename is X-23!" yelled X-23 heatedly, drawing her claws dangerously close to Wolverine's face. "I am Wolverine's clone!"

There was a bit of a hushed murmur pasted between the JLB members, but none of them looked to surprised. They had seen a lot of things stranger that a female clone. Wolverine, on the other hand, looked stunned and seemed to be at a loss for words. Batgirl could tell by his body language that he wanted to say something, but didn't know how. Thankfully, Batman stepped between them.

"Clearly we have a lot to talk about," said Batman calmly. "So, who want to go first?"

* * *

For the better part of an hour, the JLB investigated the ruins of the Facility and interrogated the many workers who had survived the collapse. American Dream was back in her right mind and willingly told Iron Man and Martian Manhunter everything she could remember while she was under their control. Superman took Dr. Rice to Stryker's Island and the Avatar called SHIELD headquarters for Kimura to be safely transferred to Alcatraz. Static and Green Lantern collected the pieces of Ultimaton and carried it to STAR Labs to see if they could reverse engineer it.

X-23 stood off to the side as Batman, Flash, and Artemis took turns in questioning their protégées over the events that had transpired when Wolverine approached her. Wolverine looked down at X-23 and, to her surprise, pulled back his back to see her with his own eyes. He was a very hairy man and looked as beastly as his name, but there was a certain kindness in his eyes that made X-23 uncomfortable. She wasn't used to people looking at her like that.

"So…X-23, right?" said Wolverine, trying to find the right words. "The girls were just telling me about what happened…and what went on in that place." X-23 steeled her gaze away from him. "Listen, I know it's kinda sudden, but if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask. The Justice League Beyond will help you…I will help you, ok."

"I can take care of myself," said X-23 stubbornly. "I don't need anyone's help."

"I used to think the same way," said Wolverine. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she threw it off. "I know you might think you're alone in the world, but you're not. Those girls risked their neck to keep you safe…and I'll do the same thing if I have to. It might sound strange coming from me, but it is a father's job to look out for his daughter."

"You're not my father!" X-23 snapped. "You're just a genetic template I was molded after!"

"If you say so," said Wolverine, pulling his mask back on. "But if you ever need anything, just let me know."

She turned her head with a loud huff. Wolverine sighed heavily and walked away and less than a minute later, Batman, Flash, Artemis, and Martian Manhunter walked over with the sidekicks.

"The girls finished explaining everything to us and it's obvious we still have a lot of issues to work out," said Batman. "But it's late and I'm sure you girls are tired after everything that's happened. We'll continue this discussion tomorrow. M'Gann has agreed to provide you temporary rooming in the Metro Tower until we can solve this whole living issue."

"I'm giddy with excitement," said Martian Manhunter monotonously.

"Get some rest, all of you," said Batman. "You have a big day tomorrow."

Speedy and Impulse didn't put up a fight; they had already fallen asleep during their interrogation and were being carried on their mentor's backs. Flash gave a quick salute and dashed into the winter wilderness with Impulse and Artemis had arranged a ride with the Avatar since they were headed in the same direction. While Batman signaled for the Batmobile, Batgirl took the chances to talk to X-23.

"X…," said Batgirl. X-23 looked over, somewhat surprised to see her holding out a folded piece of paper. "It is…from your mother. She wanted…you to have it…in case…something happened."

"So it's from Dr. Kinney, huh?" said X-23. Batgirl nodded. "Keep it. If it's from that bitch, it's obviously nothing good."

"But…your mother…"

"When will people get it through their thick skulls?" X-23 snarled. "I'm a clone! I don't have a mother or a father – I don't have any family! Period!"

Batgirl didn't know what to say now; words were never her strong point. She could tell by the way X-23 moved that she really believed it, that she had no family. It hurt Batgirl to know that even after everything she had done; Dr. Kinney would not be remembered by her daughter.

* * *

Somewhere far from the Facility, in an undisclosed location, the silhouetted images of the Facility's benefactors watched the video play for a third time. The seven holograms watched the sidekicks infiltrate the Facility, release the weapon, defeat their security, and destroy Ultimaton along with the hidden laboratory. With a grunt of disgust, one of the images waved his hands and closed the video.

"Unbelievable," said the strict male figure. "Millions of dollars in investments and government bribes, burned in a single night. I knew we should have had those children killed when we had the chance."

"It wasn't a total loss," said the non-human figure in a pleasurable tone. "Before he was captured, Dr. Rice managed to transfer a sample of the speed user's DNA. It's such a shame that I can't depend on Dr. Kinney to assist me in unlocking its true potency. She truly was a gifted scientist."

"I'm sure Thawne will be giddy to have his hands on that sample," said the sensual female figure.

"And what do we do about Dr. Rice and Kimura," asked the short female figure.

"Zander Rice is useless," said the deep-voiced figure. "As for Kimura, I'll have a few of my men retrieve her from prison. She could still be of some use to us."

"And that just leave the weapon," said the figure with a muffled voice.

"We shall leave X-23 alone for now," said the leader. "This could be a valuable opportunity to field test Weapon X-23 and take notes of her strengths and weaknesses. If things prove well, we can have Mr. Sinister move ahead with stage two of our plans. For now, let the heroes think that they have rescued her. In time, she will come to see things our way and when she does, we will be here to welcome her home."

* * *

**_Neo Gotham City – December 31, 23:57 EDT_**

Neo Gotham City Square was filled with the sounds of a million partygoers who had come to witness the Golden Ball drop to welcome the New Year. And with such a big turnout, it was Batman's mission to make sure that everyone was safe to see tomorrow, especially after Joker tried to replace the Golden Ball with a warhead last year. As Batman watched the crowd from the edge of the rooftop, Batgirl, dressed in her normal costume, silently approached her mentor.

"Well, that went worse than I expected," said Batman. "When I assigned you three to the Facility mission, I was hoping for something like Doctor Octopus or Man-Bat. I wasn't expecting you to walk out of there with a mad scientist, an S-Class criminal, machine hybrid, and a mutant clone. I have got to plan these things out more."

"But…in the end…the primary…object…was obtained," said Batgirl slowly.

"Objective," said Batman. "And I guess you're right. I originally set up this scenario to see if they were good for the team. I heard great things about them from Flash and Artemis, but I wanted to hear it from someone I could trust. So, what's your expert opinion?"

"Speedy and Impulse…," said Batgirl. "They were…better…than you had…expected them…to be. They are…smart…dedicated…resourceful…and skilled. They are…suitable…candy dates…for the team."

"Candidates, Cass," said Batman, chuckling. The countdown to the New Year started. "And X-23? What's your opinion on her?"

"She is…," said Batgirl with uncertainty. "Brash…wild…unruly…stubborn…and does not…appear to take…kindly to others. But…I feel that…if she spent…more time…with the team…she might be able… to prove herself. I think…she would make…a good…candy date."

"I trust your judgment, Cass," said Batman confidently. "And I trust you to keep her in line."

"Yes," said Batgirl.

"Batgirl, Speedy, Impulse, and X-23," said Batman. "I think now is the best time to begin the Birds of Prey Project."

**3…**

**2…**

**1…**

"**HAPPY NEW YEAR!"**

* * *

**And that's the end of the Facility Arc, introducing the original cast of the Birds of Prey as well as hinting the motives of the Society. What is it that the Society is after? Will X-23 prove to be a hero or a villain? And what new adventures await the former sidekicks? All this and more will be answered for another time. For now, as promised, I will get back to form on Rekindle and the advantures of Izumi Dragneel and friends. For now, read and review.**

* * *

**Justice League Profile**

**Name: **Batman  
**Real Name: **Terrance "Terry" McGinnis  
**Aliases: **Dark Knight, Batman Beyond  
**Designation: **02  
**Age: **21  
**Relatives: **Warren McGinnis (Father; Deceased), Mary McGinnis (Mother), Matthew McGinnis (Brother), Bruce Wayne (Genetic Father), Spider-Girl (Fiancé)  
**Mentor/Partner(s): **Bruce Wayne, Spoiler, Batgirl, Red Robin, Oracle, Catwoman, Azrael, Lady Shiva, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake  
**Affiliation(s): **Batman Family, Batman Incorporated, Justice League Beyond, Wayne-Powers Enterprises  
**Occupation: **Personal assistant, college student  
**Powers/Abilities:  
**- Trained to physical and mental peak  
- Arsenal of gadgets, vehicles, and advanced technology  
- Expert in most known forms of martial arts  
- Trained in all aspects of criminology  
**Notes:  
**- Leader and least experienced of the Justice League Beyond  
- Self-proclaimed Atheist  
- Majoring in criminal justice  
- Publically funded by Batman Incorporated


End file.
